SOFREP Cartoon: NATO – Cold War Relic, or Critical Shield?

The Tab Never Closes

NATO has heard the insult before. Cold War relic. Outdated. Too comfortable. This time it landed harder because it came with a bill and a suggestion that the bartender stop pouring. The reaction is not reform or reflection. It is the familiar slur of entitlement, asking for another round.

Same Bar, Same Patrons

For decades, the alliance has talked collective defense while operating on individual initiative when the check arrives. The United States keeps lifting the bottle while partners debate the glassware. Everyone agrees the bar is important. They want to hang out. But few agree on who pays to keep it open. That imbalance is no longer whispered in policy papers. It is being shouted across the counter.

Last Call is Coming

Our cartoon does not argue that alliances are useless. It argues that dependency breeds contempt, and contempt eventually triggers a reckoning. Any regular who mocks the guy paying the tab should not be shocked when the bartender cuts him off.

In bars and in geopolitics, loyalty gets tested fastest when the money runs out.