Trump scolds NATO allies on defense spending

You still have not told me which wars we all failed to support you in under the NATO agreement.

And . .Did Britain help Belgium in 1960 in the Congo? NO. . .Am I whining? NO
Did Britain help France in Algeria? NO. . .Are they whining? No

But. . .maybe you should just propose to Theresa May to start a "Brexit" from NATO too?
After all, why not limit NATO to those countries who believe in it?

 

I mean, I want to argue against you as I a American but I really can't.

If you look back at the Falklands "war" the whole thing could definitely have been solved but sending a carrier group to sit in the middle of UK/Arg and force mediation. Baff has a good point IMO

Honestly NATO is a pretty weak alliance overall and that is what a lot of people are starting to realize. Perhaps it may be time to update the NATO alliance with new "responsibilities" and new "repercussions". I definitely think it is still necessary, especially with a lot of the aggressive land grabs being taken by Putin and many of the border countries nervous at best. But what happens if a country doesn't meet its obligations? As of right now, nothing.

People are allowed to pay in whatever they feel like, enter whatever engagement they feel like and basically do whatever they feel like.

I think the Alliance needs to be restructured to allow the freedom that many countries apparently want to "interpret" their responsibilities as they see fit. However, the amount they get should be in some way equal to what they give.

I do find it pretty funny though that Germany and Merkel are basically "breaking the law" then throwing a temper tantrum when they are called out on it.

The Alliance states they must put in 2% of their GDP, they are doing barely over 1% or HALF OF WHAT THEY ARE REQUIRED TO.

Yet they are the ones upset? lawl only in the world we live in today

 

I don't disagree with you, but I believe that, if the Democratic party continues to push Hillary, the Democratic party is dead.

Bernie Sanders was the person who would have beaten Trump, but he got a rigged election and the DNC forced Hillary as the ONLY candidate.

And they are making the same mistake today. Unless they learn fast, you can be reassure that the orange clown will continue to destroy America for the foreseeable future. And after 8 years of Trump and the extreme Right GOP, America will be so far gone from "America the beautiful" that no one will care! America will be pretty much a third world country, with a multitude of poor and a very small group of super wealthy, with population worse than China's or India's (because THEY agree to do something about it!), with "National parks" turned into golf courses, oil fields and casinos, and with an agriculture industry dead of dying.

 

Once again. . .there is NO LAW to put in 2% of GDP! That amount is merely a TARGET that members countries have agreed to REACH BY the year 2024!

And the member countries ARE and have been increasing their contributions. . .except for the USA who has been DECREASING their contribution. . .since they already give more than the 2% target!

Trump has presented this issue totally wrong AGAIN! Just reading through these posts, it is clear that most Americans believe that there is a LAW that REQUIRES and has been requiring for years that each member country provides 2% of their GDP!

This is NOT TRUE. . . please check your facts before you continue talking about something that does not exist!

 

The difference is that the US spreads its military across the whole world whereas the European countries spread its military in defending the area that was of concern when NATO was formed. NATO was never intended to be the world's police

 

There is no pleasing you. You're oblivious to reality.

 

The spring of 1982. Were you even alive then? I was in college, following the news closely every day.

 

Bernie Sanders would not have won. The previously unknown made a good showing only because Hillary Clinton was a terrible candidate, even by Dem standards. He quite likely would have done more poorly than Hillary.

 

Yes. We carry the load on that, they can pitch in on the load they are best equipped to carry. The free-loading will likely abate given that Trump has given then the good scolding they richly deserved.

Trump hands out his cellphone number, urges leaders to call him. “President Donald Trump has been handing out his cellphone number to world leaders and urging them to call him directly.

I’ve been told that if you call his cell, he answers and talks to you. Being able to call the U.S. president directly is a big deal. While security and secrecy concerns are genuine, it’s not clear that you get fewer leaks and less espionage if you route things through the State Department bureaucracy.

Leadership. Accessibility.

 

Germany’s unwillingness to meet its financial commitment to NATO is a real issue and Trump is entirely right to insist that Germany do so. This isn't a struggling country in Eastern Europe coming up a little short of its obligation, but the economic powerhouse of Germany. For them to consistently come up short is unconscionable.

Trump also has every right to reject the climate agreement. Obama didn't submit the treaty to the Senate because he knew it would not pass, so the president can pull out at will, which really has Merkel's rather sizable nose out of joint.

Merkel supports the agreement and so is disappointed at Trump's lack of enthusiasm. A good faith disagreement about the merits of a climate change agreement shouldn’t be enough to undermine a longstanding agreement aimed at preserving the security of Europe, and certainly doesn't justify Merkel's pouting.

We have a MASSIVE trade deficit with Germany. Merkel’s petulant statement that Europe will need to rely on itself rather than its friends, and in deed it should, was clearly a shot at Trump.

Our trade deficit with Germany is a massive $69 billion. Germany's questionable policies have contributed to the trade deficit. Even Obama administration chided Germany for a fiscal policy that suppresses consumer demand, discouraging imports. Germany takes advantage that the euro is valued far less than a Germany currency would be on its own.

http://redirect.viglink.com/?format=go&jsonp=vglnk_149629588328312&key=abd7fb656f4225b209f52eeeaddc9f25&libId=j3dzgzni0101xr40000DAdpyuxkt9&loc=http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2017/05/what-to-make-of-the-trump-merkel-dispute.php&v=1&out=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2017/05/30/trump-lashes-out-at-germanys-trade-practices-and-he-may-have-a-point/&ref=http://www.powerlineblog.com/&title=What to make of the Trump-Merkel dispute? | Power Line&txt= the Washington Post

Merkel wants to continue to free-load German defense off the US, maintain its trade imbalance and have the U.S. embrace a climate change treaty that is disadvantageous to America and pout when Trump pushes back?

She has pursued foolish immigration policies, Trump is right, the smart move is to increase their defense spending and focus on combating terrorists.

http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2017/05/what-to-make-of-the-trump-merkel-dispute.php

 

Do you really believe this. I always thought that Trump lacked common sense but surely he is not that stupid! Maybe he is? I can just imagine the conversation
Euro president "about this NATO money..."
Trump "Never mind that, did you hear that the Russians are amassing on the Norwegian border, they don't know we know yet......"

Meanwhile the mobile phones have been bugged.....

You then write "it’s not clear that you get fewer leaks and less espionage if you route things through the State Department bureaucracy."! Seriously?

ps how will Trump's personal mobile number remain known to just a few people? Within a few days everyone in the world will be able to find it

 

Yeah. Lindsay Graham gave it out during the campaign. Trump just put a campaign ad on the voice mail and switched phone numbers.

 

So you mean that the number he gave out is no longer in use? If so, it ruins your assertions in post 234

 

No it doesn't.