The Daily Signal - Europe’s Self-Destructive Way of Life Prevents Them From Stopping Iran | Victor Davis Hanson

Episode Date: April 8, 2026

Most NATO members were unwilling to directly assist the United States and Israel in their fight to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, saying, “This isn’t our war.” The United Kingdom’s mission to retake the Falkland Islands from Argentina in 1982 wasn’t the United States’ war, yet President Ronald Reagan still gave them the supplies necessary to retake the islands. Germany’s invasion of France wasn’t our war, yet Franklin D. Roosevelt still sent military equipment, and later soldiers, to retake Western Europe. However, Europe’s cold shoulder may not be out of spite, but an inability to help at all, explains Victor Davis Hanson on today’s edition of “Victor Davis Hanson: In a Few Words”: “They have dreamed of utopia and a good life, and the result is that their fertility rate is 1.3. They are shrinking. They are aging. They’re not competitive. So they don’t have the manpower, even though they have a 450 million-person population. Europe is larger than us by 100 million. “And even though they have a $22 trillion GDP, which is the third-largest, apparently they don’t want to invest that in their own defense, or they haven’t so far. They don’t want us to use it when we need it.” (00:00) NATO Crisis Returns (00:26) Iran Strikes And Allied Refusals (02:44) Why Europe Cannot Contribute (05:26) Moral Posturing And Base Politics (06:08) Let NATO Fade New Alliances 👉 The Daily Signal cannot continue to tell stories, like this one, without the support of our viewers: http://dailysignal.com/donate 👉Don’t miss out on Victor’s latest short videos by subscribing to The Daily Signal today. You’ll be notified every time a new piece of content drops: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/dailysignal?sub_confirmation=1⁠  Also on Spotify: https://megaphone.link/THEDAILYSIGNAL9753340027  👉Want more VDH? Watch Victor’s weekly, hour-long podcast, “Victor Davis Hanson: In His Own Words,” now! Subscribe to his YouTube channel, and enable notifications:  https://www.youtube.com/@victordavishanson7273?sub_confirmation=1👉More exclusive content is available on Victor’s website: https://victorhanson.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hello, this is Victor Davis Hansen for the Daily Signal. Once again, NATO is in crisis. It seems like this is happening every three or four years. It predates and will post-date Trump. We are engaged in a bombing campaign to disarm the Iranian theocracy that for 47 years has killed Americans in embassies and military installations that supplies the terrorist of Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Houthis, it funds and subsidizes terrorists in Europe, tried to kill President Trump.

I could go on forever. So we decided enough is enough because we felt that their ballistic missiles had a range that could harm Europe and soon us, and that was proven by its launching of two missiles toward Diego Garcia Islands and the Indian Ocean. And what was the result of our NATO allies when we said, we don't have to do it. We'll do the heavy lifting along with Israel. Don't have to do anything. I know we helped you in Ukraine.

I know we helped you in Serbia. I know we helped you French and Chad. I know we helped you British when you went to the Falklands on that long adventure. And you needed fuel and reconnaissance and resupplies and Tomahawk. We know all that. But we're not asking that. We don't want to need it. All we want to do is land at the bases that we share with you on your soil under NATO.

So Spain said, nope, can't do it. You can't fly through our airspace. We said, well, maybe if we're going from our base in Britain, we'll go across France. Nope, can't do that either. Well, how about when our bombers want to refuel in Italy? No, no, no, no, you can't do that. Can't do that. Well, how about Diego Garcia?

We've used that before. And Mr. Sturmich, not our war, not our war. I think somebody should have said Falcons was not our war either and in 1939, 1940 it wasn't our war either 41, 42 we came over there but nevertheless

that was what they wanted to do so the question is what do we do well we've almost finished the campaign in Iran apparently we didn't need those bases because we're still supplying them very well with what bases that we do have access to the Greeks have been wonderful

there's a NATO base at Suda Bay Crete, and they're helping repair the new Gerald Ford aircraft carrier. It seems to me that when they say they won't do it, part of it is they can't do it. They have made a series of investments, policies, protocols that have paralyzed that entire continent. They have dreamed of utopia, and the good life, and the result is their fertility rate is 1.3. They are shrinking.

They are aging. they're not competitive. So they don't have the manpower, even though they have a 450 million person population Europe does, larger than us by 100 million. And even though they have 22 trillion GDP, which is the third largest, apparently they don't want to invest that in their own defense.

So they haven't. So far, they don't want us to use it when we need it. They have no energy to speak of. They went complete New Green Deal, solar wind. We're not going to use our natural grass reserves. We're not going to drill for them. We're not going to do what we're dependent on the Middle East and Russia. So we're going to put you in an absurd situation, U.S.

You're going to come over here to Europe to defend us from a potential Putin invasion, why we beg you not to sanction that oil. We need it. So we want to give him money for the oil so he can use. use the money to buy arms to invade Ukraine and maybe us. When Trump said it was crazy, they laughed at him. It's not just that energy. It's not just fertility. They have no borders, so to speak. So they've had millions of people coming from a hostile Middle East and Arab world who had no intention of fully integrating, assimilating, and acculturating. And under their systems of parliamentary

democracies, those factions have some veto power over policy. But more importantly, they're terrified of Islam. They've had so many terrorist incidents. They think the only proper way to deal with radical Islam is to appease it. And appeasing it is what they do. Add all that up, they also have a utopian idea of defense. So they have been completely pretty much unarmed until the invasion of Ukraine, and now they're trying to catch up.

But when you have a continent that has been unarmed, that is shrinking in South, in terms of population that has high-priced energy that's limited and there's energy shortages and doesn't have the confidence to defend its own borders and has led in millions of people who don't like their host, the result is it can't defend itself and therefore it creates an exegesis to explain that reality and the exegesis is we are morally superior to you. We have all these bases. We have the ability. We have fleet.

They don't. And we think as morally superior people, we don't want you using them and don't think you're protecting us on your unilateral crusade. Yes, the missiles could hit us. Yes, they could be nuclear tipped if you hadn't intervened. But that's not our problem. Our problem is you trying to use these bases for your misadventure in Iran, even though the Iran thing is going perfectly well. It's a month into it. We've almost destroyed the war-making potential of Iran.

What's the future? Do we get out of NATO? I don't think we do get out of NATO. I think we just let it die in the vine. We just say, you know what? We were a full NATO member. Oh, you wanted us to go into Ukraine again and defend you? But Ukraine's not a NATO power.

There's no Article 5. This is your problem. This is on your doorstep. Oh, you want us to go into Serbia? And the Serbs are acting up again? that's not a NATO problem either. They're not attacking any NATO nation. I don't remember Kosovo was in NATO.

So you can handle it. That's a European problem. Oh, you want to go into Africa to your old colonies and stop the Islamists from taking over Chad? That's not our problem. Oh, you think that the Argentine government might want the Falcons back someday? That's not our problem. That's our attitude. Meanwhile, we can have very productive bilateral coalitions.

of the willing relationships. We can say to the checks, we can say to the polls, we can say to the, any of them. And we said, you know what, we'd like to be, have our bases in the Azores. Portugal, what do you want to do? It's up to you. You want a bilateral agreement? Because NATO doesn't mean much anymore, but we will have a special relationship with you. And we will guarantee your territory, integrity, and your national security for exchange and a partnership. I think we could find six or seven European powers that together would make ideal alliances with the United States, and then we can just go through the motions with NATO. Don't cause any more trouble with them. Just say, you guys are wonderful, and we're going to

treat you like you treat us. So we are one of 32 nations, and we'll pay one 30 seconds of the budget. We're tired. And you guys have had two big world wars. You've been the birthplace of Western military dynamite. Go to it. Rearm. And we'll just kind of lag at wrong, kind of half walk. And we'll tell you we're a fine NATO power.

We'll be kind of like Canada. Canada pays about 1.5%. We've got on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean like Canada. You love Canada. You love Canada. You don't like us. we're going to be your Canada. We will expend as much effort and as much arms

and as much intervention as Canada does. And that will be the new NATO. Thank you very much. This is Victor Davis-Hanson for the Daily Seag. Thank you for tuning in to The Daily Signal. Please like, share, and subscribe to be notified for more content like this. You can also check out my own website at victorhansen.com

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