Posted on 08/01/2016 6:41:16 PM PDT by jazusamo
Visiting Italy this week, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is emphasizing the importance of maintaining close ties with NATO allies –– an unveiled, if indirect, shot at Donald Trump's vow to make such support conditional.
After meeting Monday with Italian President Sergio Mattarella and other top officials, Pelosi said the talks focused on "counterterrorism, cyber security and other critical national security topics."
She referred to Italy as "our close friend in NATO" and praised Italy's participation in the allied group as vital for promoting global security.
“In our meeting with President Mattarella, we thanked him for Italy’s security cooperation with the United States as our close friend in NATO and for hosting our men and women in uniform, as well as our military families," Pelosi said in a statement. "We acknowledged Italy’s support for international security initiatives, including NATO training missions in Afghanistan and Iraq."
U.S. ties with NATO allies have risen to the forefront of the presidential election because Trump, the GOP nominee, has said his defense of those nations would not come automatically if he were president.
Of the 28 NATO nations, just five spend at least 2 percent of their economy on defense –– a stated target of the group. And last month, amid the Republican convention in Cleveland, Trump told the New York Times that such support would hinge on whether the countries have “fulfilled their obligations to us.”
“If they fulfill their obligations to us, the answer is yes [I would support them],” he said.
On Sunday, Trump doubled down, saying too many NATO members are "taking advantage of us," while dismissing the Obama administration's "close ties" to NATO as ineffective in combating terrorism.
"We're protecting these countries and they're not paying," he said on ABC's "This Week.”
"So with all of these strong ties to NATO, Ukraine is a mess. Crimea has been taken. Don't blame Donald Trump for that."
The NATO debate has become entwined with Trump's frequently vocal support for Russia, as some Baltic states in the NATO alliance have feared the threat of Russian aggression.
Trump's positions have sparked sharp criticisms from lawmakers on both side of the aisle.
"If Mr. Trump is serious about wanting to be commander in chief he needs to better understand the job which is to provide leadership for the United States and the free world," Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), a prominent force on the Armed Services Committee and frequent Trump critic, said last month.
Pelosi is visiting Italy as part of a larger Democratic delegation that includes Reps. Eliot Engel (N.Y.), Rosa DeLauro, Steve Israel (N.Y.), Anna Eshoo (Calif.), Dutch Ruppersberger (Md.), Andre Carson (Ind.) and Terri Sewell (Ala.).
Pelosi said the group also focused heavily on the influx of refugees entering Europe to escape violence in the Middle East and Northern Africa. She stressed the importance of finding "a coordinated regional approach" designed "to advance economic growth and expand opportunities to address the root causes of migration."
She did not provide details.
The Democrats also met with Archbishop Silvano Tomasi –– "a highlight" of the visit, Pelosi said, that touched on a range of topics, including "climate change, migration and displaced persons, food security, human rights, and the imperative of global poverty reduction.”
Pelosi once diverted her huge, government-provided jet HUNDREDS of miles to pick up one order of chocolate-dipped strawberries.
The booze bill in one year on her plane exceeded $100,000.
Tonga is in her district, Starkist Tuna is on Tonga, where 70% of ALL the people slave away at Starkist, at a SINGLE company.
Nancy defeated a measure that would have made a minimum wage hike apply in Tonga, too, as it applies in the mainland.
Samoa, NOT Tonga, sorry. :(
In Italy for her twice yearly facelift ?
Didn’t she get Booed at a Breakfast something in her own district ?
Yep, I remember that, what a witch.
Botoxicated .......
Her $20 million house in Napa has both tennis and Bocci ball courts, helicopter landing pad.
A political creation of Unionism, Pelosi employs ZERO union members both at her vineyards and at Auberge de Soleil, her luxury Napa resort, where a burger and fries costs $22 and was rated in the top 10 in the USA.
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