What kind of military does Belgium need?

Video Description

A discussion of the Belgian military and Belgian military policy. If you like this video, please consider making a donation using the "thanks" button or buying me some coffee, so to speak, here: https://buymeacoffee.com/shurkin. Here's the April 2025 Belgian parliament defense paper: https://www.dekamer.be/flwb/pdf/56/0856/56K0856022.pdf Who am I? Former CIA analyst, former RAND Senior Political Scientist, Currently Director of Global Programs at 14 North Strategies and RUSI Associate Fellow. Yale History Ph.D. Find me at https://michaelshurkin.com Check out my substack etc. https://shurkin.substack.com/ https://twitter.com/MichaelShurkin https://bsky.app/profile/michaelshurkin.bsky.social https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-shurkin-ph-d-1397641a/ My favorite books on war (Affiliate links) Svetlana Alexievitch, “The Unwomanly Face of War: An Oral History of Women in World War II.” https://amzn.to/3GyeDIV Haruko Taya Cook, Japan at War: An Oral History, https://amzn.to/42Dpo5j. Vasily Grossman, "Life and Fate." https://amzn.to/4gRzFz6 Robert Heinlein, "Starship Troopers", https://amzn.to/406gqfA Ernst Jünger, “Storm of Steel”, https://amzn.to/4lWmyji Ahmadou Kourouma, "Allah is not obliged." https://amzn.to/3PaEfwj Robert Leckie, “Helmet for my Pillow: From Paris Island to the Pacific,” https://amzn.to/3YrmWwe Väinö Linna, "Unknown Soldiers." https://amzn.to/41Rnazm Jonathan Littell, "Les Bienveillantes, or The Kindly Ones." In French: https://amzn.to/4a0BY0A In English: https://amzn.to/49VEhSh Erich Maria Remarque, "All Quiet on the Western Front." https://amzn.to/4iRvnJB Pierre Schoendoerffer, "La 317e Section." https://amzn.to/40dmvG3 E.B. Sledge, With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa. https://amzn.to/4iSkBlu 00:00 Introduction 01:55 Part 1: Overview of the Belgian Military 03:53 Part 2: What's Belgium's military for? Belgian military policy 06:18 Chief military requirement 06:54 Cold War Belgian Military 08:13 Post Cold War cuts 09:23 Shift to expeditionary focus 10:16 CaMo 10:39 SCORPION 14:09 The Russian invasion in 2022 and the STAR plan 15:16 Part 3: Is the Belgian military on the right track? 21:38 Hesitations