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1. Trump is correct to demand that Europe pay it's fair share for NATO.
2. Trump is also correct to give serious thought (& weigh the pros and cons) on whether NATO is an organization that the US should stay apart of. It might not be economically viable (or geo-politically necessary) anymore, since the threats of 1947 & 1987 are not the same threats of today.
3. The speech he made in Riyadh (and the possible coalition of Sunni moderate leaders there against Isis and other radical Shia groups) is more important than anything that was discussed with Merkel.
All of these facts were missed (or ignored) by the majority of the media & none of these thoughts or activities are "horrifying". They show that Trump indeed leads from the front & if the media talking heads (& CD anti-trump Political Posters) would stop setting setting their hair on fire, and stop screeching out the talking point of the day, they might have noticed this.
Geez, there were 50 pages of posts on him taking a golf cart half a mile (as opposed to walking with Merkel and two of her boy toys) & another 20 pages of his wife slapping his hand away. Good lord have any of you posters ever been married? Every married male who is reading this has experienced "The Silent Treatment" by his wife at least once every two months (so 6-10 times per year) for EVERY year of the damn marriage.
Taking a golf cart (to avoid Merkel...OR to save a few steps) or having an angry spouse (for ANY reason) is hardly newsworthy....except to the Hair on Fire p*ssys on the nanny state left. And telling Merkel to go pound sand is a legitimate option for any US president (or English Prime minister) and if he chooses to do so....it's certainly not "horrifying".
All I know is that even Trump's advisors don't agree with you. Watch Trump make nice with Germany in the near future. Call it what ever you want but watch the administration move back to Europe when possible unintended consequences become more apparent. Recall I said it, the US will finder a greater appreciation for NATO, whether or not member states pay more.
These alliances are supposed to ensure global stability. Many are a product of WW2 and the Cold War but they are still necessary. Without Nato I think Putin would of found an excuse to roll Russian forces into a number of Eastern European and Baltic states if he felt like it.
I think what Trump doesn't get is that we live in a interconnected globalized world and fallout from some overseas conflict will inevitably hurt America at some point. We only have to look at the middle east to see how the conflicts there have had a global impact.
Every country should technically be capable of defending it's self but the problem is if some countries start building up their militarily forces it tends to make rival nations nervous and can easily kick off a arms race.
China's military build up in the South China Sea has everyone in that region edgy and resulting in Japan building up its's Navy. Nato's missiles in Poland has Russia edgy. The chances of a conflict breaking becomes higher in these tense situations. North Korea has everyone worried.
It turns out it is actually cheaper for US to keep troops based in German bases, than here in US bases. This is because Germany pays about 50% of the cost, while in US the tax-payer would pay 100%.
Not to mention Europe pays 79% of the entire NATO spending.
I honestly don't care, Germany is Germany and the USA is the USA.. we have enough of our own issues, and they have there issues. I don't care what happens in Germany right now, I just want tax codes to be less strict, easier to own a small business, and the government out of my life as much as possible
That's one messed up post. Impossible to vet with any sense of surety a Muslim wont terrorize once allowed into a western predominately Christian country. Terrorize means not only killing of innocents, it means rapings, gropings, beatings, intimidation, etc. Even if the immigrants themselves don't conduct a terrorists attack, it's possible their children or grandchildren will. This is about an ideology/religion that teaches them they can rape and kill non-Muslims. Any fair minded person should be able to see it's a bad idea to let them into your country. I doubt to the families of terrorist attack victims it seems like a small number.
How many generations of Italians did you allow to immigrate even while having the Mafia kill WAY more of you than Muslims from countries other than Saudi Arabia.
All this modern fear and no place to spend it but on stupid enterprises unworthy of the U.S.
Not true. For us to spend 3.61% of our massive GDP ($18.5 Trillion) is actually $670,344,000,000 That represents 76.11% of the entire NATO budget.
76.11% of NATO's budget? According to FoxNews it's a little over 22 percent of NATO's Budget.
Quote:
The United States contributed more than 22 percent of the organization’s budget in 2016, according to White House data, far outpacing all other members. The government spent 3.6 percent of GDP, or $664 billion, on defense. The United States’ financial commitments to defense have fallen over recent years, down from more than $757.4 billion in 2009. However, President Trump's new budget looks to reverse that trend with a $54 billion injection into the defense sector. Trump slams NATO cheapskates: Who pays what? | Fox Business
The number you quoted once again is the entire Defense Budget...not what was given to NATO.
I honestly don't care, Germany is Germany and the USA is the USA.. we have enough of our own issues, and they have there issues. I don't care what happens in Germany right now, I just want tax codes to be less strict, easier to own a small business, and the government out of my life as much as possible
SSeligman
Did you really mean to have SS eligman when discussing Germany ???
76.11% of NATO's budget? According to FoxNews it's a little over 22 percent of NATO's Budget.
Yes, it is 21-22% according to FOX, NATO, DoD, and any other source other than maybe Breitbart, Donald Trump and Putin.
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