It’s a good thing but other countries do need to pay their fair share. I don’t think that’s a bad thing to bring up.
You think Putin is dangerous now....see what he's like in Poland, Latvia, etc if NATO doesn't have a strong presence on his border....which to me, makes Trump's moves suspicious as hell....he blows off G7....calls our neighbors weak liars, call Putin a great guy...only gets excited about engaging with dictators who don't answer to anyone...sort of his wish list for himself
You understand that they don't actually pay us money, right? That 2% of GDP they're suppose to spend is on their OWN military. We don't get that.
I know this. My point is, every nation should be spending at the same rate to keep the Alliance fair and balanced.
Awesome! You know more than our president does! Also the alliance will never be fair and balanced. We will always be the biggest and most badass.
The size and scope of the military and the countries budgets are not the same though...you think Poland can afford to pay what US does?
First, Europe is no longer struggling to recover from WWll. Second, NATO was created to repel a Russian invasion. NATO has refused to create a force capable of doing that. Third, the GNP of the EU is almost as large as the US. But the EU has 200 million more people than the US. Yet the US spends $3 on the military for every $1 spent by all the EU countries combined. Fourth, US interests have changed. The war that now matters to the US is being fought in the Islamic world, not Europe. Fifth, NATO needs the US to defend Europe. But NATO is not doing, and never has done their share to defend themselves.
The US chose to have military bases in Europe and Turkey..etc...we by no means have been forced by NATO to have such a large presence there...that's on us..cow towing to Russia however by Trump over our allies is just bs by the president. Fact is when we go to war...we just don't leave...we have bases all over the globe that we don't need to have on such a large scale..and EU is not close to our military budget....England left because poverty in Greece, Italy, etc..were bringing down their own GNP.....the countries bordering Russia are far from wealthy...we keep a huge presence I N. Korea more to have a presence near eastern Russia and China than N Korea...it's a big risk board...Trump should be downsizing our international presence if he's worried about money....if money is such an issue Stateside...why did he bloat the military budget as soon as he got into office? Now a real waste of money is a border wall and trade war with our biggest trading partners....Trump is full of shit..he's even wanting to build an army in space now...the guy talks out of his ass most of the time...he's an embarrassment to all good things American in my view. He should bring the Korean conflict American troops home and build those bases in Oregon and Alaska...let the soldiers spend their checks stateside for a change
Obama let Russia break every treaty they wanted to break. Obama was a weak president. Now we have a president whiling to stand up to the EU countries, and talk to our enemies. I may not like his style, but at least he is a much stronger president than whimmpy Obama. BTW, how do you know what Trump is up to with the Russians? I don't.
Okay, point taken. But Liberals need to shut the fuck up about our military spending. No more "military industrial complex blah blah blah", no more whining about our military budget. None of that shit. Because we ARE basically NATO. And if it wasn't for us, this NATO, and especially Europe in general, would be in dire straights right now. So do you want us to have the largest, most powerful military in the world and be good for NATO? Or do you want us to cut military spending? Because you can't have both. A strong NATO, or cut military spending. Those are your two choices. Personally, I'd like to see us sell two of our oldest Nimitz-class Carriers to our closest allies in Europe and start withdrawing forces from our most least-important bases around the world. I think that would be a good start. Let Europe take more care of itself, while still maintaining a strong military. If we cut military spending, then the way I see it is that the rest of NATO countries need to step up if they want safety and security from Russia and China. 2% means 2%.
Consider these facts. The population of the EU is more than three times that of Russia. The GNP of the EU is about five times that of Russia. Yet Russia would kick the EU butt, without the US. NATO should no longer need the US to defend themselves.
Listen to his own words about what great guys Kim Jong-un and Putin are....when it suits him....and what terrible people Trudeau and Merkel are....doesn't ring a bell? It should....I don't really believe most of the crap that comes out of his mouth.....listened to him talk at the NATO meeting today and he said the same thing over and over....Germany does business with Russia....billions....yeah...that's called free trade...not military sabre rattling...Trump doesn't do his homework period...he's got nothing of substance in diplomatic discussions...just insults. I only know what I hear the man say.....puzzling some have turned a blind eye to his double standards and lack of planning on the international front
little thing called WWII capped Germany and Japan's military development.....Russia spends big on military...Germany spends big on business...they aren't the same thing ...when Germany had a green light it almost conquered Europe, N. Africa and Russia