As Trump Demands More Military Spending, NATO Allies Reconsider What Counts

In case of war, we need to need to have sufficient alternative routes that we can take if one falls through,

Mr. Hartmann said, pointing to a rail bridge in Hannover-Ahlem in Germany, a crossroads for European transit that has been used as a route for shipping military equipment to Ukraine

Margus Tsahknaestonian Foreign Minister

The target of NATO member countries must be 5 percent in the future,

Estonia’s foreign minister, Margus Tsahkna, said at the meeting last week

Matthew WhitakernATO

It is definitely more than just missiles, tanks, and howitzers,

Matthew G. Whitaker, the new American ambassador to NATO, said last week

Mark RuttenATO Secretary General

We have to make sure that we have all the enablers in place, everything related to defense spending in place,

the NATO secretary general, Mark Rutte, said last week after meeting with the alliance’s foreign ministers in Turkey, where countries agreed to the 5 percent plan

Sometimes when you cross a bridge in Europe, you hope with your own car that you safely get across it — let alone with a tank,

he added