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Donald Trump and NATO
American Thinker ^ | April 2, 2016 | Michael Curtis

Posted on 04/02/2016 5:28:56 PM PDT by Kaslin

Whatever else can be said about Donald Trump, everyone can agree he is a provocateur who, intentionally or not, stirs controversy on subjects to which little political attention has been focused. He has injected a new issue in the presidential campaign by referring to NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, as “obsolete” and arguing that the United States was spending too much money on it, while some or many of the other countries were “freeloaders.”

It is improbable that Trump has thought long or deeply on the subject of NATO, but he has opened a genuine debate on it. NATO, founded on April 4, 1949 by 12 countries, was a product of the Cold War mainly intended to provide collective security against the Soviet Union and its satellite countries in the Warsaw Pact. After the end of the Soviet Union this particular main objective was no longer germane but NATO increased to 28 countries.

NATO has always been dominated by the U.S., a reality leading to both foreign and domestic criticism for different reasons. The strongest expression of disapproval was by French president Charles de Gaulle. In a letter of March 7, 1966, he told President Lyndon B. Johnson that France expected to remain a party to the NATO treaty. However, because changes had occurred in international affairs since 1949, France could not agree to the existing military arrangements.

Therefore, France intended to recover in her territory the full exercise of her sovereignty, presently impaired by the presence of “Allied military elements,” and the use made of French airspace. France would terminate its participation in “integrated” commands and would not place forces at the disposal of NATO.

(Excerpt) Read more at americanthinker.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Editorial; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: 1stcanadiansenator; globalistcruz; kaslin; nato; noteligiblecruz; openboarderscruz; trump; unipartynarrative
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1 posted on 04/02/2016 5:28:56 PM PDT by Kaslin
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To: Kaslin

Nato is totally worthless. It does nothing and cost AMERICANS Billions od $. Get out. Shut it down. Europe in infected with moslems. They are finished. We are not finished!! Nuke up America and close the borders.


2 posted on 04/02/2016 5:33:17 PM PDT by WENDLE (I guess)
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To: WENDLE

No one else is talking about NATO needing to be reframed.


3 posted on 04/02/2016 5:36:17 PM PDT by combat_boots (The Lion of Judah cometh. Hallelujah. Gloria Patri, Filio et Spiritui Sancto!)
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To: combat_boots

Why?


4 posted on 04/02/2016 5:40:59 PM PDT by WENDLE (I guess)
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To: Kaslin

“It is improbable that Trump has thought long or deeply on the subject of NATO”

Really? Why?

L


5 posted on 04/02/2016 5:41:38 PM PDT by Lurker (Violence is rarely the answer. But when it is it is the only answer.)
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To: Kaslin

GET OUT!! THIS IS DUMB!!


6 posted on 04/02/2016 5:41:59 PM PDT by WENDLE (I guess)
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To: Kaslin

“It is improbable that Trump has thought long or deeply on the subject of NATO, but he has opened a genuine debate on it”.

Not sure why this is improbable. Just because someone is a “businessman all his life and new to politics” does not necessarily mean that that individual has not been following world issues for many years. Donald Trump may have been born on a weekend but it wasn’t last weekend. Imo, anyone with as much international success as he has, must have a global viewpoint and finger on the pulse of much more than the cost of land and “how can we put 18 holes over there”. I would gather that he has thought long and deeply on many issues. Just sayin’.


7 posted on 04/02/2016 5:42:18 PM PDT by connyankee (Cannot stand Fox News. A pack of wolves, they be.)
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To: Kaslin

Well, I will have to agree with Trump on this one. Actually, I have held this position for a long time. Our membership in NATO led to the morally bankrupt Clinton to wage a ridiculous war against Bosnia, our natural allies, in support of muslim trash.


8 posted on 04/02/2016 5:50:26 PM PDT by bobo1 (Truth has but only one voice.)
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To: Kaslin
The U.S. is not spending “billions and billions” on NATO as Trump argued, but about $500 million a year.

This would depend on whether you look at spending year-by-year or at a long term cost. If one were to look at a 2 decade period of spending, that would be $10billion, which is "billions and billions". There is also the issue of how much do we spend because we are part of NATO, but is not actually allocated to NATO itself.


While I am not in favor of just pulling the cord on NATO, it does need a serious rethink, especially when there are organizations like the "NATO-Russia Council" and treaties like "NATO-Russian Founding Act". In the end, it may very well be that the plug should be pulled and the organization disbanded.


I have heard that if one gets a job posting to NATO, they do not need to pay taxes as they count as a diplomat. That benefit needs to go away.
9 posted on 04/02/2016 5:51:14 PM PDT by ronnietherocket3 (Mary is understood by the heart, not study of scripture.)
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To: Kaslin

Of all the issues that I am most squarely aligned with Trump, his approach to NATO is right on. Time for them to pay up and for us to administer a little tough love to these allies who are fine with putting the US at the tip of the spare in defending them.


10 posted on 04/02/2016 5:51:46 PM PDT by chuckee
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To: WENDLE

Nato is totally worthless. It does nothing and cost AMERICANS Billions od $. Get out. Shut it down. Europe in infected with moslems. They are finished. We are not finished!! Nuke up America and close the borders.


If NATO is so worthless why does Putin want it to go away? Seems it has some value or he wouldn’t care.


11 posted on 04/02/2016 5:53:22 PM PDT by lodi90 (Clear choice for Conservatives now: TRUMP or lose)
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To: lodi90

Has it morphed into a bureaucracy that is not doing favors to either the USA or Russia now?


12 posted on 04/02/2016 5:54:33 PM PDT by HiTech RedNeck (Embrace the Lion of Judah and He will roar for you and teach you to roar too. See my page.)
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To: lodi90

Putin? What a joke. Putin IS ON OUR SIDE KILLING MOSLEMS!!


13 posted on 04/02/2016 5:55:01 PM PDT by WENDLE (I guess)
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To: Kaslin

I find it quite ironic that the US befriended communist/Marxist Russia when it served “the ends justifies the means” military doctrine of the high priests of war that turns a blind eye to the innocent being persecuted by the communists/Marxists. And when they are done using the communist/Marxist regime for their priestly wars, they then turn on them to begin their next military adventure. The hypocrisy is astounding!


14 posted on 04/02/2016 5:55:03 PM PDT by patlin ("Knowledgee chosen to participate inthat is - 2nd to none but God" ConstitutionallySpeaking 2011)
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To: chuckee

Of all the issues that I am most squarely aligned with Trump, his approach to NATO is right on. Time for them to pay up and for us to administer a little tough love to these allies who are fine with putting the US at the tip of the spare in defending them.


The big issue is that hardly any of the NATO countries are even budging 2% of GDP for defense as CURRENTLY required.

Germany is only at 1.3% and that includes a lot of accounting gimmicks supposedly. So you’ve got the wealthiest country in Europe spending less than 1% of GDP on defense while they live comfortable under our nuclear umbrella. THAT is the main issue Trump is getting at, IMO. Rightly so, he says the gravy train and abusing the goodwill of the U.S. is over.


15 posted on 04/02/2016 6:01:43 PM PDT by lodi90 (Clear choice for Conservatives now: TRUMP or lose)
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To: Kaslin

So you are a “provocateur” to discuss the imprtant issues facing our country. I guess the voters still refuse to see the truth about where we, and the world for that matter are today. They want to vote for someone who “assures them that everything is really o.k. and that with a little social tinkering, and another diddle of our “ entitlements,” things will be hunky dory!”


16 posted on 04/02/2016 6:02:39 PM PDT by vette6387 (Obama can go to hell!)
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To: combat_boots; McGruff; grania
No one else is talking about NATO needing to be reframed.

Some of us have been talking about this for years...just sayin.

17 posted on 04/02/2016 6:05:53 PM PDT by mac_truck (aide toi et dieu t'aidera)
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To: lodi90

“If NATO is so worthless why does Putin want it to go away? Seems it has some value or he wouldn’t care.”

Because he wants the US to go away! With out the US, NATO is just a building in Brussels, with a bunch of perfumed military princes ensconced therein chewing up our dollars while they live high on the hog and produce nothing of value.


18 posted on 04/02/2016 6:05:54 PM PDT by vette6387 (Obama can go to hell!)
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To: mac_truck

Apologies. I meant among the candidates.


19 posted on 04/02/2016 6:07:35 PM PDT by combat_boots (The Lion of Judah cometh. Hallelujah. Gloria Patri, Filio et Spiritui Sancto!)
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To: Kaslin

Let’s get out of the UN, too.


20 posted on 04/02/2016 6:17:24 PM PDT by Basket_of_Deplorables (Trump: Living rent free in liberal 'splodey heads since 2015!)
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