ON U.S. FOREIGN POLICY: WHY WE SHOULD SPY ON GERMANY

Germany's Angela Merkel has her panties in a twist it seems because the U.S. has been seeking information from two German government insiders to determine what is happening within her government. As a result, in a fit of pique, she has now decided to kick the top U.S. spy out of Berlin.

We spy on Germany because they seem to be the leading voice of the European Union. We need to know exactly where Germany leads our partners in this so-called "union" and in its NATO counterpart.

We must never forget this woman grew up in the German Democratic Republic, under Russia's thumb. I think her actions are truly suspect at times. What does she really support...Europe's Union or Union with Russia? Her attempt at fence striding affects both the European Union and NATO, and it is especially suspect now that the Russian bear's claws are ripping at Europe's underbelly.

To be brutally honest, if it were not for the United States of America our European friends would have lost both World Wars and would throughout the continent be speaking either German or Russian in the 21st Century. Meanwhile the U.S. is supporting 22% of the total cost of operating NATO, the 27-nation alliance designed to protect Europe.

To me, this is ludicrous. I do not think the U.S. gets nearly enough out of this amalgamation of the feckless to pay more than one-fifth the cost.

I give you two examples of how ill-prepared Europe is to defend itself at the moment.

First, in the European-lead effort to subdue Libya in 2011 they ran out of armaments. They actually had to borrow missiles and other arms from the United States to continue their mission.

Second, last May, while Russia was invading Ukraine, Putin's only aircraft carrier [shown above] passed through Holland's exclusive economic zone without a Dutch escort ship to shadow it, as European Union protocol demands. The Dutch had neither a ship nor a sophisticated surveillance aircraft to protect its borders. Do they not teach 19th- and 20th-Century European political history in Netherlands' schools?

The creation of the European Union seems to have created still another layer of bureaucracy for a group of nations already over-layered with bureaucrats.

Trains are being built in France that will not physically fit into the station platforms in that country. Italy and Greece, both home to democracy's origins, are running like Third-World nations at best, with economies so stagnant they make African nations look progressive. The German economy hums, but it does so on the back of Russia's oil and gas industry giving Mr. Putin every reason to feel smug.

This part of the world is responsible for two world wars and a very frigid 50-year cold war. About 500,000 Americans lost their lives and another 1,000,000 more were wounded protecting Europe in the last century.

The U.S. should cut its support of NATO to no more than 5% of its total operating cost. If Europe wants us to help protect them, then they have to begin acting as if they are willing to spend their own blood and treasure to do so. If they wish to live under the threat of war or terror, let them. We have been taking care of them for 100 years. Maybe it is time to cut the cord.

The least these nations should do is get their house in order and act as if they understand how the world works before ranting about how the U.S. spies within their borders. We spy because, in my opinion, their alliance is proving to be about as reliable a partner as are Vladimir Putin and Hamid Karzai.