quote:

STOLTENBERG:
Well, I worked with him for four years and I listened carefully because the main criticism has been about NATO allies spending too little on NATO, and the message has been taken across the alliance in Europe and Canada. So over the last years, NATO allies have significantly increased defense spending. More and more allies meet the NATO guideline on spending 2% of GDP on defense. … In total, they have added 450 billion extra for defense. So the message from the United States that the European allies have to step up has been understood, and they are now really moving in the right direction, and that strengthens also the trans-Atlantic bond within the alliance.

quote:

Author Byron York:
Needless to say, Stoltenberg’s assessment, that Trump’s stand actually strengthened NATO, got lost in the media hysteria that followed Trump’s Conway speech. (And lost on the closed-minded like LHyem500.) It could be that the speech said less about NATO and more about Trump’s relationship with some media outlets, a relationship that is both troubled and transactional. Troubled for obvious reasons and transactional because Trump knows if he offers them something hot enough, they will stop everything and obsess over him again, just like they always have. And that is the lesson, such as it is, of the latest Trump-NATO-media flareup.

https://www.washingtonexaminer...-nato-and-the-media/

Yes, because you strengthen NATO by stating that it is obsolete, by telling Russia to invade other NATO countries and by continuously threatening to withdraw from NATO.

Everybody knows that.

Hard to blame media outlets for bypassing Trump speeches when the man fills those speeches with lies, exaggerations and half truths, not to mention the embarrassing personal attacks and name calling.

Yeah, I'm sure NATO countries doing more has everything to do with Trump and him challenging them and holding them accountable on funding and nothing to do with Trump's buddy Putin invading one of their neighbors while Trump cheers him on.

It’s not even a cult for you. It’s a religion. You interpret what your dipshit messiah says, so it fits your dumbass view.

Even in the face of 74 million republican fellow voters you guys continue to divide. maintaining that the man has done nothing but bad for your country, If anything this turmoil in your country has allowed other interests to deeply affect the well being and security of your country, my country is no better and I believe it is worse but we don't have a Constitution to fall back on or a media with opposing views. How quickly you are sliding from world power. A good first step is to put somebody in power who has some sense of his surroundings.

Russia invading Ukraine had no effect...

Evidence^^^that the forest really does blind many from seeing tree.

Of course calling NATO on the carpet made the coalition stronger. But no matter the effect on any of his policies.....orange man bad....

Donald Trump's suggestion the US would not protect Nato allies failing to spend enough on defence "undermines all of our security", the Western military alliance's chief has said.
Jens Stoltenberg also suggested it put US and European troops at greater risk.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-68269354

quote:

Originally posted by nute:
Donald Trump's suggestion the US would not protect Nato allies failing to spend enough on defence "undermines all of our security", the Western military alliance's chief has said.
Jens Stoltenberg also suggested it put US and European troops at greater risk.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-68269354

I believe he said that^^^after he got crap for giving Trump credit for increasing the spending and saying what a huge boon it was to NATO to receive that extra $450M.

"Even in the face of 81 million democratic fellow voters you guys continue to divide."

See how that works, fool?

I've read the comments in this thread and there's something amiss about this, seems to me. The conflicting ideas and contradictions seem unreconcilable, given the facts known.

So, let's imagine that Trump is really a genius, like playing three-dimensional chess. On one dimension he supports NATO and really wants the members to pay up. Another is the press and public opinion and congress to manage. Then there's Putin to keep happy so the kompromat isn't disclosed.

All three planes or dimensions are about leverage. I'm sure Lane understands.

It's mind boggling.

Some people just don't understand or fully appreciate the man:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news...7966928d3c6d4d&ei=12

New 'chaos' surrounding Trump raising concerns among right-wing billionaires: report
Story by Tom Boggioni • 1h

Trump’s point that NATO members need to meet goals and that they can’t depend on the US to pull them out all the time was a legitimate point.

What happened when Russia went in to Ukraine all the sudden woke them up? WTF? This was the second invasion of Ukraine. They took land from Finland twice. They occupied all of eastern Europe (and parts of it predating communism…)

Trump’s way of doing it was self defeating.

The US has been carping about them not meeting their own agreed upon goals.

Heck, the Germans want us to give up bases because they want the land for “productive” purposes.

On a word, no. There is nothing about NATO and Trump that is legitimate.

quote:

Trump’s point that NATO members need to meet goals and that they can’t depend on the US to pull them out all the time was a legitimate point.

And Stoltenberg agrees and gave President Trump credit.

Stoltenberg also agrees President Trump’s comments concerning U.S. commitment to NATO is dangerous, but you give no weight to those.

He only came back with that as he got pushback.

Not sure I completely buy that, he's had criticism before but not changed his tune as a result, plus he only has another few months in his post then he's stepping aside for Mark Rutte or Ben Wallace.

quote:

Originally posted by LHeym500:
Stoltenberg also agrees President Trump’s comments concerning U.S. commitment to NATO is dangerous, but you give no weight to those.

And that is also a correct statement.

It gives China and Russia the hope that the alliance will fracture and allow them to exploit the split.


The time for threats to alliance members for non-performance is after the international threat is done.

Frankly, some of the underperforming western nations might end up being thrown out by a vote at some point. I’m sure the poles and other eastern NATO members are not happy with the fact that Germany is so ineffectual at this point.