I hadn’t planned to blog, but the whole situation with NATO and the recent summit irked me. There’s a lot that irks me these days. But I’m very grateful for President Trump and for his leadership and I’m looking to four more years with President Trump in the White House.
Foreign Policy in the age of Donald Trump
If you should point out that Russia is a Greek Orthodox (Christian) country and it is not a one party system, the mandarins will scoff at you. If you were to ask about China, they’d just smile. China is not a Christian country and it is a communist country, but at State, Russia is the big threat to our freedom. North Korea is a close second.
Foreign Policy in the age of Donald Trump
During the impeachment hearings, you saw and heard the mandarins from the US State Department crow repeatedly about how they know so much more than President Trump does about diplomacy. They have PhD’s from the Georgetown University’s Center for Strategic Studies. If you ask them, they will assure you that they’re all geniuses. The culture that spawned them was one of unlimited and nearly unaccountable spending. They are the bulwark that stands between the Godless communist Russian hoards and hometown America. Just ask any one of them.
If you should point out that Russia is a Greek Orthodox (Christian) country and it is not a one party system, the mandarins will scoff at you. If you were to ask about China, they’d just smile. China is not a Christian country and it is a communist country, but at State, Russia is the big threat to our freedom. North Korea is a close second.
Meanwhile at the recent NATO Summit, President Trump spoke about how the American Middle Class is donating to support European (NATO) countries. He said, “It’s our middle class. We’re funding high-speed railways in Germany. We’re rebuilding airports all across France and central Europe. Our middle class is descending into poverty.” The media went crazy, [saying], ‘You’re destroying the greatest alliance in history. It’s our strongest defense.’ And the Pentagon came in, the generals met with [Donald Trump], [saying], ‘Sir, these are our friends, sir,’ and Trump is saying, “Well, if they’re our friends, why do they lie to us? Why do they sign a document promising this percentage they’ll give, and they don’t give it. Why does our middle class have to pay for their defense and to clean up their environment?”
President Trump’s approach will work as well or better than any other approach if NATO is to arm itself against its only enemy, Russia. The State Department should be thrilled, but predictably, they are not. It’s not how things have been done. Whether it works or not is irrelevant. The bureaucrats are process people, they make entreaties, they take their counterparts to lunch (I’ll have the cherries jubilee) on their expense accounts, they cajole (pass the sweet and sour shrimp). Most of them have forgotten that diplomacy is saying “nice doggy” while you’re looking for a rock.
And PM Boris Johnson, yucking it up with Blacky Trudeau and Froggy Macron… oh, that was not the best move. President Trump was willing to do a lot for the UK in their Brexit efforts. Now it will still happen, but it will be more difficult.
Of the 29 NATO countries, only five pay their treaty obligation – 2% of GDP to defense of their own nation (and thus to strengthen NATO) they are USA – 3.6%; Greece – 2.4%; UK – 2.1%; Estonia – 2.1% and Poland – 2%. Essentially the US taxpayer subsidizes the rest of the NATO member countries. To add insult to injury, President Trump suggested that the NATO member countries should account for their delinquency by paying the difference between what they paid and what they should have paid for past years. Globalists such as Presidents GW Bush and Obama would never have suggested such a thing, but President Trump is a Nationalist. He concerns himself with America first (how dare he!)
Robert Levinson
He disappeared on March 9, 2007 on Kish Island, Iran. Levinson, a former DEA and FBI special agent went to Iran as a private investigator on a cigarette smuggling matter. The Iranians have held him since then. He’s the longest held American hostage in history. Will he be released in 2020? Maybe. Your Sunday Sermonette is that you need to have faith. It precedes the miracle.
WSF – business opportunity.
bleach and fumigate, and sell to somebody else, but yeah, WSF.
I've been irked about this for years and years; A Frenchman can work 32 hours a week, take the entire month of August off to lounge on the French Riviera, and retire at age 50. And there are a lot of Frenchmen out there. I believe the French are kicking in 1.3% of their GDP to NATO annually, but that is the latest figure – it has averaged much less than that over the last 40 years.
And so it is for the rest of NATO (with the exception of the countries you pointed out): American taxpayers are subsidizing European social safety nets and French Riviera vacations while these feckless Europeans spend not one penny on battleships, air craft carriers, tanks, missiles and soldiers. We pay all of that, and have been since WWII. What do we get for our tax dollars spent protecting these Europeans from Russia? We get bad mouthed. Such a deal.
We need to send Europe an invoice for their unpaid dues: 30 or 40 TRILLION dollars oughtta cover it. THen we'll be square.
As always, I enjoyed your post, and it is educational. Fredd's comment is also spot on. Hat tip to Fredd.
As for NATO nations which have not been contributing their fair share, Trump should tell them that the U.S. will not defend them ( are you listing Merkle ) if they don't pay up. Give them a deadline and if no funding, dissolve NATO. Make bilateral agreements with those countries which are willing to share the cost of their defense. Of course, A. Merkle is still a communist at heart, but I wonder how many of her countrymen are ( or remain ) of the same persuasion.
Thanks for the post.
Paul L. Quandt
WSF – business opportunity.
She was leasing it month to month but the lease checks bounced. Timing is everything and now is not the time. After all the lawsuits have been filed and everyone realizes they are being stiffed, then will be the time! A low ball hard dollar cash offer should do the trick.
The upside is it appears to be a Prevost. While the interior may need gutting, the mechanicals should be good to go.
"Why does our middle class have to pay for their defense and to clean up their environment?"
Because the Europeans have destroyed their own middle class and bankrupted themselves in their pursuit of totalitarian Socialist States. The vast welfare machine has already destroyed them, and it's just running on inertia at this point.
"Of the 29 NATO countries, only five pay their treaty obligation – 2% of GDP to defense of their own nation (and thus to strengthen NATO) they are USA – 3.6%; Greece – 2.4%; UK – 2.1%; Estonia – 2.1% and Poland – 2%. "
There's more to it than GDP percent; there's also whether they get any value for their money – and the answer is usually not.
Britain spends it's promise, but gets nothing. The British Army has more cavalry horses than tanks. The Royal Navy essentially no longer exists – they have 2 CVs with no aircraft (they plan on operating USMC planes and crews for a long time before any UK planes arrive) they have 6 new DDGs that don't work, 13 middle-aged frigates, 4 boomers, and six attack boats that are either old or unreliable, or both.
Mostly, the RN stays in port due to repairs or lack of money.
Everything else is a coast guard ship.
Britain spends a lot, but gets mostly nada, beyond a ceremonial force.
It's hard to believe, but France has become our strongest and most reliable NATO military ally. The French Navy is stronger and more regularly at sea than the RN, and their Army also surpasses the British. The French are also deployed overseas every day, fighting their and our enemies, whereas the Brits have retreated from the world.
Hell, Italy has a comparable Army / Navy / Air Force to the UK, and they spend a lot less for it.
Germany has ceased to exist as a military power, their armed forces are little more than a jobs program. Most of the equipment is down for maintenance at any time.
Getting Europe to spend their pledges would be great, but it would be even better if they took the military seriously enough to actually care about getting something that works for their dollars.
-Kle.
France left NATO in 1966.
We have had US troops stationed in Germany since 1945 AND Germany has not caused a huge military problem since then. They sure caused problems a couple of times in the century leading up to 1945… I think the money spent keeping troops in Germany was money well spent!
The State Department has, since the mid 1920's, been a functioning organ of Russia in it's CCCP and Russian Federation forms. Paid, controlled, all by Russian money and power.
This was known in the '30's and '40's, and was the basis of Senator Joseph McCarthy's anti-communism program. Based on… internal State Department investigations of it's own employees, from top to bottom, full of open communists and fellow travelers, all under control in one way or another, money, sex and scandal.
And nothing has changed. Well, maybe the better paymaster today is Communist China…
As to Europe not paying, I say screw them. Pull out. Seize assets of theirs in this country until they pay up. Same with the UN. Not a single cent of support until either group until all the signatory nations cough up the dough. Screw them. Screw them all.
Irked too. Why should we pay to defend a gang of cultural Marxists and their millionaire/billionaire overlords?
Could Russia take them over and put a stop to trans bathrooms and mass Moslem migration?
Judging from the hysterical reaction of our transnational rainbow elite you'd think they felt threatened.
Trump is pushing them to actually pony up, and France, Germany, et al don't have a CLUE what to do… And they can't afford to have us walk away. Interesting conundrum for them… LOL
Great post and comments.
Irked me that the jerks at the summit gave the lying MSM something to talk about when they weren't talking about the annoying, unconstitutional impeachment.
After re-reading your post, I wish to add another thought.
This professional bureaucrat thing that has resulted from the change from the previous " spoils " system of staffing the DC bureaucracy has been an on-going mistake, which, if not corrected, will ( or perhaps has already ) cost the citizens of our country their freedom.
Paul
The early NATO mission put a lot of strain on the USSR and helped push it into oblivion. Since then its value is less certain. The debtor nations certainly do not appreciate the US.
Bilateral agreements always seem to work out better for the USA.
As usual, a sound business evaluation from WSF.
Great evaluation and on point.
True. And today, Germany couldn't invade Lichtenstein unless they did it on foot. They've imploded in a real sense. That doesn't mean that Germany couldn't arise like a Phoenix, from the ashes. The German people have that capacity.
Back to the value of bilateral agreements.
The transnational rainbow elite (championed by Barack) have a deep and abiding love for Iran, which would execute them on arrival. An interesting situation.
NATO has linkage to trade in the Trump Administration.
The MSM do not have American hearts.
I think that it's likely gone too far. Whether you or I are alive when the balloon goes up is another matter.
Thought provoking post and comments as usual, LL.
Are you planning on posting anything about the Pensecola terrorist shootings? How many times has something like happened? I remember the Army incident, but have no idea how many times it's occurred.
A zillion years a go, back when naval aviators flew on the back of pterodactyls, I was at Pensacola attending a class and I shared a BOQ room with a pilot from Taiwan, training there…which has nothing to do with the current situation except that my recollection was that there were a few dozen foreign pilots there at the time, so I thought about that when the shooting went down.
Many Saudis are Wahhabists, and that means that they really hate "us"/USA. And killing an infidel as part of a holy war is the path to 70 virgins. When I was at Ras Al Mishab during the First Gulf War, I made sure that we watched the "allies" closely for that reason. Sure the Iranians hate us, but not like the Saudis.
I was sad to hear of the attack, but I don't know that we can do anything but ban their training in the US. That won't happen because there are many billions of dollars in defense contracts riding on "friendship". But we don't need their oil, and we don't need friends like that.
Like an abused person who likes the abuser.
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