WASHINGTON, May 2 (UPI) -- U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel warned NATO members Friday to increase their defense expenditures in light of challenges posed by Russia.
“Leaders across our governments must understand the consequences” of lagging defense spending by the 28 member nations of NATO, he said in an address at the Wilson Center in Washington. Noting the disproportionate burden of defense spending by the United States, he added, “Today America’s GDP (gross domestic product) is smaller than the combined GDPs of our 27 NATO allies, but America’s defense spending is three times our allies’ defense spending.”