Trump's stunning u-turns on NATO, China, Russia and Syria

OP

Well it is certainly strange that he's suddenly doing what the Republicans wanted him to do all along. The plot thickens!

 

NATO was already focused on fighting terrorism before Trump was President. They were also involved in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Germany has been more involved in fighting ISIS in Syria than the US has been. Again before Trump was in office.

Besides military support NATO allies are also have been a great help with intel. Again another thing that was happening before Trump.

Trump's statement was based on ignorance of NATO involvement in fighting terrorism prior to his inauguration. NATO was not obsolete when Bush or Obama were President and remained important after their terms.

Actually I would be rather insulted if I was a non-US NATO member. Trump is basically ignoring the sacrifices their soldiers have made fighting alongside US soldiers prior to his talk with Stoltenberg. Whom I assumed educated him about the involvement NATO has had in fighting terrorism and fighting for their allies' interest and security.

 

No rationalization is required - just critical thinking.

 

The majority of NATO nations was not spending their pledged percentage of gdp. And NATO is now focused on domestic terrorism and in fighting the roots of terrorism. Trump's statements on NATO were meant to achieve a result and he has done that. It was meant to insult those nations who were not fully participating and to bring attention to the immigration policies of those NATO nations. Stoltenberg seemed anything but insulted in the recent press conference with Trump.

Germany is fighting ISIS in Syria to a greater extent than the US ?? What's the source for that ??

Also read the book "Warrior Diplomat - A Green Beret's Battles from Washington to Afghanistan" by Michael Waitz to get a true picture of the participation of the other NATO countries.

 

Lord, forbid.

 

I have always said that Trump is not a conservative like the Republicans want him to be and he is not a Liberal as the Democrats would like him to be or a politician as all Washingtonians would like him to be. He thinks from a business persons point of view. There are days I proudly wear my red hat and there are days I wish to trash it.

NATO - For a long time we have been footing the bill and most of the expenses. Now we have the other NATO nations looking at their part and starting to step up to the plate. Very good business decision. Germany doesn't like it but they have had a freeride for a long time.

China - Let's make a deal.We will turn a blind eye to currency adjustments if perhaps you canput your foot on the throat of North Korea and reign them in. I think that is going to happen.

Need to run to a poker tournament now but more thought to follow.

 

Stand Down Mr Trump


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I'll sum up all of what you said - Don't Believe him.
I agree.

 

Trump simply gave in to pressure from the Deep State and its media allies. Hawkish policy towards Russia and Syria = no leaks from the Deep State and positive media coverage and good relations with the establishment. It's that simple.

 

So Trump is not Literally Satan after all, just a run-of-the-mill flip-flopping politician whose election is not worth screetching, sobbing and rioting about?

Who would have thought.

 

"I, alone, can fix all your problems."
-Trump

Except that you're getting your ass kicked at everything you're doing by people who have thought deeply about the implications of actions and relationships for their entire careers...

"I, alone, can fix all your problems." Read that again.

The words of an ignorant narcissistic megalomaniac. You cover better than Richard Sherman. Trump has achieved nothing but proving to be exactly the incompetent fool he's been for his entire life, riding a wave of gold-leafed bluster from one ignorant short-sighted decision to the next. Page 6 has five decades of this track record to look at if you have the courage... Instead you guys are willing to reverse-engineer the veneer of success into everything the man does. It's shocking. I hope he goes golfing every single weekend and lets people who understand the implications of language and action continue to steer the ship. Trump has no apparent grasp of history, no understanding of his predecessors, and no interest in anything but himself. Go golf. That's what serves this country best.

 

TDS ^^ Trump Derangement Syndrome.

 

Riiiight. Keep telling yourself that. I suspect Trump is going to give us reason every single day to argue about which one of us is suffering from that. Are you willing to look at his campaign promises? Are you willing to look at what he has unequivocally said? OR are you the type who says, "what he says isn't what he means..."?

 

Interesting. I didn't know CNN was still in business.

 

He still has a ways to go in catching up with Democrats. As long as he don't turn out to be like a deviate degenerate like the Demos were created as. It will be awww-ight. Just sayin.

 

These forums have gone to crap. Half of the posts in this thread are one lining vitriolic troll posts and another quarter are pure biased venom as well with zero sources. I do like how the mods are letting people be more snarky with each other though in the rare cases of actual discourse

As to the OP and this troll bait thread I disagree. I feel like it's taking a few months but Trump is beginning to get solid experts and pro administrators advising him. No one man can know every geopolitical sitrep geez, he does need better advising. Remember haters he's really not a politician so he's unpredictable and world leaders hate that. It's stressful. I want them stressed. I'm optimistic as things move forward

 

The Base is fine with Trump, after all, GORSUCH!

China is helping contain the Mad Little Pinko, Kim Jung Fat-boy. China is no longer purchasing Nork Coal, and purchasing it from Trump voters instead, so for now, Trump doesn't feel like hitting the currency manipulation drum with the Chi-Coms.

NATO was soundly lashed and seems to be at least committing to improving funding, we'll see.

Yellen was put on notice not to screw up again, she hiked, and 1st Q GDP numbers are likely to be dismal, 0.5% wouldn't surprise me. She was planning on more hikes this year, that could cost her her job, and she knows it.

We always knew Trump was transactional, not doctrinal, and that's why we elected him. I know this confuses you, but you still haven't figured out why he won, so, unsurprising.

 

The Orange Clown is an Olympic level Flip-Flopper.


Seriously, the guy is not right, in the head. Even the righties must see it.

 

I look at what he does - and so far it has been very impressive.

 

Your post is well written and easy to read. But in the end, your meaning is no different than that of any other garden variety trump apologist.

According to you, anyone who questions trump’s own words, must have a ‘comprehension’ problem. We should: “consider context and circumstances, appreciate the environment and audience” — as if truth and facts change as we move from room to room. That only happens inside trump’s head.

In the end, your message comes down to the same old Conway delusion: that trump’s bizarre world of “alternative facts” should be accepted as reality by sane people who know the difference.

Truth is trump’s worst enemy.

 

trump is not competent politician. And he seems utterly incapable of speaking clearly (or truthfully, for that matter).

trump talks out of both sides of his mouth.

That, is not speaking clearly. That's being a World Class Flip-Flopper — or a LIAR.

 

Did you hear words like 'Liar' and 'Deceiver'?

 

I do not need to read a book about NATO support in those theaters. I lived it.

As for military spending, yes most fall short of the 2% that was suggested in 2006. Only the UK, Poland, Greece, and Estonia meet or exceed it. Most already were increasing their spending on their military around 2014-15 or before. Germany plans on reaching that goal in 2024, not sure about the others.

Not sure why the 2% is important since the really important thing is a military able to conduct operations in support of their allies and win. I know from experience that Germany, UK, Canada, Norway, Poland and Belgium are capable of doing that.

Are you seriously saying they were not already focused on fighting terrorism? They did not deploy troops or work with our intelligence agencies? Launch air strikes? They only changed their stance and now doing so because Trump is in office? Europe was having the problem well before 9/11 and already more focused on it than the US was. It was during the Clinton admin that the US started to focus on it more. Bush did not think it was that great of threat until after 9/11. Dismissing warnings about groups like al-Qaeda as not being that serious.

The only thing I see our NATO allies really need to do is work on their ability to deploy their own troops more effectively. Many can not do so in a short time without US support. Of course commit to spending what they need to. I also believe they should be spending the amount they think is in their best interest and needed to defend themselves. IMHO some falling below the 2% goal is fine. For the reason I mentioned earlier. The amount spent is not as important as the ability to fight and win.

Actually I do not see their increases resulting in decreases in our spending. We already spend more than Russia, China, North Korea, Iran, and Syria by a very large margin. We can even throw in some old adversaries from history like Germany, UK, Mexico, Canada and Japan. Just in case they have been trying to lull us into a false sense of security and strike us when our guard is down. We still spend more.

 

And now all NATO members will be also meeting their military spending commitments. And maybe they will be changing their rules of engagement as well.