The Real Burden-Sharing: The Allies and Afghanistan

 I have always hated the 2% metric--that NATO allies are good ones if they spend the equivalent of 2% of their gross domestic product on their own armed forces.  Input measures always problematic, it was a measure that made bad allies (Greece) look good, and, most importantly, it says nothing of what allies are willing to do with each other.

 What is an alternative metric?  Blood.  And it is very relevant this week as Donald Trump insulted the allies by saying that the US did all of the fighting in Afghanistan while the allies stayed away from the front lines (um, insurgency/counter-insurgency doesn't have front lines like conventional wars, Donnie).  Au contraire, as the allies did much of the fighting in Afghanistan from 2003 to 2009, when the US was distracted by its war of choice in Iraq.  When Obama sent more troops in 2009, then the burden shifted but did not really end until 2014 when NATO essentially pulled out of combat.

Yes, it is true that allies varied in what they were willing to do.  Dave and I literally wrote the book (ebook is on sale) on this as this was our sole focus, unlike other books on NATO and Afghanistan.  I say this not to boast, but just to say that I know whereof I speak on this (ok, a little boastful).  Of course, the facts tell the tale themselves.  This is page four of the Dave and Steve book: 

As you can see, the top five countries, by per capital killed in action from start to 2009, are Estonia (tiny country means tiny denominator means bigger %), Denmark (you know, the folks who own Greenland), Canada (ye olde 51st state), UK, and then .... the US. No accident as Denmark and the UK fought mostly in Helmand, the one of the most dangerous spots in the country (ask the Marines), and Canada fought in Kandahar, one of the other most dangerous places.

Someone else can dig up the post 2009 numbers (see http://www.icasualties.org/App/AfghanFatalities), but the basic pattern will hold--many allies did sacrifice much for America's war.  None of these countries had deep interests in Afghanistan--this was their contribution to the alliance (aside from most staffing AWACS planes over the US in 2001-2) in the aftermath of 9/11 and after the alliance invoked Article V.

But Trump sucks at math and at history (and also has no sense of honor or obligation), so, of course, he gets this wrong.  But we shouldn't.  Oh, and Trump was quite toxic in most of these countries before this week.  Veterans in these, who tend to be right of the center, will absolutely flip on Trump over this.  Which means that it will be very difficult or impossible for politicians in these places to bargain with Trump and to give in to him.

So, the recent past matters, and it is going to bite Donnie on his big behind.