Mr. Diplomacy (A.K.A. The Decider) to deliver fatwa to NATO members: Increase your defense spending

[Human Torch]

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) -- Facing rising violence in Iraq and Afghanistan, President Bush opened a high-stakes diplomatic mission Monday seeking more help from allies amid growing impatience at home with the war. "Obviously everyone would agree things are not proceeding well enough or fast enough" in Iraq, National Security Adviser Steve Hadley said aboard Air Force One. Bush left Monday for an overnight stop in Estonia ahead of a two-day NATO summit in Riga, Latvia. He then heads to Amman, Jordan, for talks Wednesday and Thursday with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

From Air Force One, the president spoke to the leaders of France and Egypt. Speaking about Bush's upcoming talks with al-Maliki, Hadley said, "We're clearly in a new phase characterized by an increase in sectarian violence that requires us to adapt to that new phase."

Bush's agenda at a NATO summit this week will include pressing alliance members to increase defense spending. Aides say many U.S. allies are ill-equipped for modern military operations.

But as Bush left Monday to visit NATO member Estonia, the rising violence in Iraq was prominently on his mind. An issue the United States hopes to highlight at the NATO conclave is the amount of money that member countries pay in proportion to their other commitments. The defense outlays of some NATO partners are less than half those of the United States -- as a percentage of gross domestic product.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/11/27/bush.nato.ap/index.html

[n2doc]

1. yeah, we're kinda running low on funds here

Gotta find some other suckers to feed the mil-indust complex. Bastards.

[madrchsod]

2. why should they? seems to me the reason for nato is somewhat

obsolete. i doubt the russians will assemble a vast military force to over run europe any time soon. nato was never envisioned to fight wars in afghanistan and iraq