Trump's trampling all over Barack Obama's success in increasing NATO spending in 2014
...Merkel and Obama organized an increase in NATO spending in 2014 at the summit in Wales.
The clincher here is that it was in response to Putin's Russia invading and annexing Crimea. Russia was kicked out of what was the G8 for the invasion and occupation.
Of course, Trump was reported in June privately telling G7 members that Crimea belonged to Russia because everyone speaks Russian there, and questioned why the U.S. supported Ukraine, calling the country 'corrupt.' He was also publicly calling for Russia to be readmitted to the world economic body.
Kind of puts his blathering at the NATO dinner about Germany's oil deals with Russian in a curious light. Aside from his strange outburst at dinner about the relationship, what are the organizing principles behind asking our ALLIES to spend more on defense?
It's not as if our own spending on weapons, soldiers, and war is going to decrease as NATO countries' spending rises. That's not even remotely likely to happen. Our nation's military spending is intractably determined by our own interests - public and private appropriations and investments keep America at the pinnacle of every other nation's spending on their defense.
Here's the thing: Trump's pulling away from the decades-long alliances with NATO members without any understanding given to the body that it's part of some U.S. initiative, or some clear shift in policy. It's baffling why he's doing this, except as some kind of corrupt power play, posturing against our allies while sidling up to Russia.
I don't think it's just happenstance, either, that Russia and the key measures of U.S. resolve against Putin's aggression are being trampled all over by Trump's public badgering of our NATO allies. I also don't think he's finished trying to rehabilitate the Russian dictatorship, despite clear evidence they attacked our election process.
The contrast with the manner Pres. Obama went about encouraging more from our allies, to Trump's belligerent display is stunning. Here are his remarks in Wales, in 2014:
Excerpt Remarks by President Obama at NATO Summit Press Conference, 2014
_____We’ve met at a time of transition and a time of testing. After more than a decade, NATO’s combat mission in Afghanistan is coming to an end. Russia’s aggression against Ukraine threatens our vision of a Europe that is whole, free and at peace. In the Middle East, the terrorist threat from ISIL poses a growing danger. Here at this summit, our Alliance has summoned the will, the resources and the capabilities to meet all of these challenges.
First and foremost, we have reaffirmed the central mission of the Alliance. Article 5 enshrines our solemn duty to each other -- “an armed attack against one…shall be considered an attack against them all.” This is a binding, treaty obligation. It is non-negotiable. And here in Wales, we’ve left absolutely no doubt -- we will defend every Ally.
Second, we agreed to be resolute in reassuring our Allies in Eastern Europe. Increased NATO air patrols over the Baltics will continue. Rotations of additional forces throughout Eastern Europe for training and exercises will continue. Naval patrols in the Black Sea will continue. And all 28 NATO nations agreed to contribute to all of these measures -- for as long as necessary.
Third, to ensure that NATO remains prepared for any contingency, we agreed to a new Readiness Action Plan. The Alliance will update its defense planning. We will create a new highly ready Rapid Response Force that can be deployed on very short notice. We’ll increase NATO’s presence in Central and Eastern Europe with additional equipment, training, exercises and troop rotations. And the $1 billion initiative that I announced in Warsaw will be a strong and ongoing U.S. contribution to this plan.
Fourth, all 28 NATO nations have pledged to increase their investments in defense and to move toward investing 2 percent of their GDP in our collective security. These resources will help NATO invest in critical capabilities, including intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and missile defense. And this commitment makes clear that NATO will not be complacent. Our Alliance will reverse the decline in defense spending and rise to meet the challenges that we face in the 21st century.
Fifth, our Alliance is fully united in support of Ukraine’s sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity and its right to defend itself. To back up this commitment, all 28 NATO Allies will now provide security assistance to Ukraine. This includes non-lethal support to the Ukrainian military -- like body armor, fuel and medical care for wounded Ukrainian troops -- as well as assistance to help modernize Ukrainian forces, including logistics and command and control.
Here in Wales, we also sent a strong message to Russia that actions have consequences. Today, the United States and Europe are finalizing measures to deepen and broaden our sanctions across Russia’s financial, energy and defense sectors. At the same time, we strongly support President Poroshenko’s efforts to pursue a peaceful resolution to the conflict in his country. The cease-fire announced today can advance that goal, but only if there is follow-through on the ground. Pro-Russian separatists must keep their commitments and Russia must stop its violations of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity...
full remarks: https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2014/09/05/remarks-president-obama-nato-summit-press-conference
Barack was all about organizing our allies against Russian aggression. That's a good part of what he relied on to motivate our allies to heightened defense, against Russian aggression, not just U.S. self-interest.
We can be as certain that this president is doing his best to dismantle our NATO alliances, ostensibly, transparently to further Trump's mission to lower our nation's guard - and that of our allies, as well - against continuing, active, possibly escalating Russian interference and aggression in our nations.