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New York – Not just a tweet. Donald Trump also knows how to use more illustrious literary forms to make the criticism of friends and enemies, in this case, to attack NATO allies: real missives to the chiefs of defense. State and government. The tone, however, does not change, depending on the scenario that has so far paid off with domestic popularity and annoyed but tolerant reactions anyway abroad: the President gives free rein to recrimination, anger and diktat. The countries of the Atlantic Alliance – particularly Germany, Belgium, Norway and Canada – have written that they must stop spending too little on defense. And that Washington is losing patience because of their inability to reach the 2% of GDP threshold in collective security investments that are part of the deal. He was so impatient that he was becoming, he was threatening, that he could reduce his international role.
The letters, sent last month and abundantly revealed by The New York Times, arrived at their destination in a particularly delicate moment: Trump will be in Brussels next week for a NATO summit. And the new position is not an exception or an occasional statement: the US president has openly questioned the usefulness of NATO since the election campaign. It is also appropriate to challenge national security arguments to trigger trade wars with the EU and Canada over aluminum imports, threatening other rights over foreign cars. Remaining in the international arena, he blew up the joint declaration at the G7 summit in Canada, withdrawing his signature and accusing Ottawa's Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, of criticizing him for unilateral and protectionist actions.
Here are the words of Trump "Letters" put on paper by the Times: German Chancellor Angela Merkel, one of her favorite targets, writes that "as we discussed last April during her visit, there is growing frustration in the United States for the fact that some allies have not come forward as promised. " Once again: "Inadequate German military spending continues in defense undermines Alliance security and legitimate other allies not to meet their spending obligations, because they see the Germany as a model. "
only the one addressed to Germany, Trump says "to understand domestic political pressures" against the increase in military spending. But he says he's invested significant political capital to increase it in the United States.
And he warns that if things do not change, America could withdraw: "It will become increasingly difficult to justify in the eyes of US citizens because some countries do not share the weight of security of NATO, to sacrifice their lives abroad or to return seriously wounded to their homeland ". Over the weekend, the national security adviser, the neo-conservative hawk John Bolton turned to the populism of Trump, had denounced in turn Chancellor Merkel for military spending equivalent to 1.2% of GDP.
It did not seem immediately clear whether Italy also received such a letter. Trump invited Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte to the White House at the end of July and seemed to join him at the G7 in Canada, and he congratulated the success of the new Italian anti-establishment forces. This despite military spending on the peninsula remains well below the 2% mark
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