5 Things To Watch As Trump Goes To The NATO Summit



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President Trump Donald John TrumpThe owner of the bookstore calls the police after the client has confronted Steve Bannon McConnell pushing Trump towards two potential Supreme Court choices: the report MORE will arrive in Brussels [19459019Tuesday to urge Allied members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) to increase their defense budgets.

Despite Trump's pressure, the confab of state leaders is likely to be overshadowed by the US President and his European allies, Trump's policies outside of NATO and his summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, which should take place a few days later.

NATO Secretary General Kay Bailey Hutchison told reporters last week that the theme of this year's summit will be "strength and unity". NATO Secretary General noted that the alliance had survived past conflicts, but he acknowledged the growing divisions among the allies. Following a tense summit for the G-7 industrialized nations last month, NATO observers hope leaders will look good in Brussels and pass through the meeting without major incident.

Five things to look at this week's summit:

Trump and other leaders do they hear?

The Allies played a lot with Trump in the early days of his presidency, hoping to seduce him on issues such as the Paris Agreement on Climate, Tariffs and the Nuclear Agreement Iranian.

But Trump challenged these efforts and openly criticized other leaders of the world, leading to various disputes with the leaders of the world powers. The G-7 seemed to mark a turning point, with Angela Merkel's office posting a photo of the German Chancellor staring at an armed Trump. While Trump was preparing for his historic meeting with Kim Jong Un of North Korea, the president quarreled with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau

after Trudeau declared that Canada would fight back against Trump's "insulting" tariffs. called Trudeau "very dishonest and weak" in a tweet and said that the United States would not sign the joint G-7 communique because of "Justin's false statements".

Shortly after his first volley against Trudeau and French President Macron On Twitter amidst recurring trade disputes, Trump insisted at a press conference that relations between the United States and the United States Allied countries were never better, stating, "The relationship level is 10." ] I would say the relationship is a 10. "

Merkel drew a particular resentment from Trump, with him tweeting last month that" the German people are turning against their leadership. "And at a campaign rally in Montana last week, Trump He also hinted that he told Merkel that the United States could change its military stance if Germany does not Spend no more on the defense. "I told him, Angela, I can not guarantee it, but we protect you, and that means a lot more for you than protecting us because I do not know what protection we get in you protecting, "said Trump

What's Happening in Defense Spending

During Trump's Riff? At the rally in Montana on Thursday night when he called Merkel, Trump also labeled the "schmucks" of the United States for how much he spends on the allies.

"I will tell NATO you have to start paying your US The US will not take care of everything," said Trump

. It's the schmucks who pay for all of this, "he added later.

A greater burden-sharing is a chorus Trump has sounded since his 2016 campaign. But he has increased the pressure recently, sending letters to Merkel, Trudeau and other NATO leaders suggesting the possibility of a change in US military posture if they do not increase their defense spending.

Only eight of 29 members of NATO meet or are expected to reach this year the goal of the alliance to devote 2% of its gross domestic product to the defense: the United States, the United Kingdom , Greece, Poland, Latvia, Estonia, Romania and Lithuania.The goal was set at the Wales Summit in 2014, where the allies agreed to reach the ## 147 ## 39, goal by 2024.

Despite the growing animosity between Trump and other leaders of the O TAN, the experts expect the allies They realized that they had to spend more independently of the United States

"Europeans are beginning to recognize that they might have to think about what that could look like without the United States out there for them, "said James Goldgeier, professor of international relations. During the presidential campaign, Trump criticized NATO as being "obsolete" for what he saw as a lack of focus on the fight against terrorism

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Proponents NATO insisted on this point, noting that the only allies invoked the mutual defense pact known as Article 5 after the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001 against the United States

. The ATO Heads of State meeting took place a few days after a terrorist attack in Manchester, England, highlighting the anti-terrorist part of the agenda. At the meeting, NATO formally joined the coalition fighting against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), a largely symbolic initiative that had been under way for years but took Importance among the critics of Trump. According to him, counter-terrorism will still be a priority for Trump at the top

. As a result, the allies should officially launch the largest NATO training mission to Iraq to help stabilize the country after ISIL

will continue to argue the need for Allies to extend their engagement in Afghanistan, following the announcement of a new strategy last summer based on the conditions on the ground and not on time

Putin is there the # 39; elephant?

Last month's G-7 in Canada was tainted by Trump's statement on how Russia should be readmitted to the group. Russia was expelled in 2014 because of its annexation of Crimea, a move that Western nations maintain illegal.

Now, a few days after Trump meets with NATO leaders, he will go to Helsinki, Finland for a summit with Putin. This summit should begin with a face-to-face meeting between Trump and Putin

NATO was founded as the buttress of the Soviet Union and refocused on Russia after his incursion into Ukraine. In the appeal to reporters, Hutchison said that NATO's "enhanced deterrence and defense" are needed in the light of "malicious activities of Russia".

But the allies fear that Trump will be alone in a room with Putin. could do in an effort to forge an agreement, as he will recognize Russia's claim on the Crimea. Trump left the door open to do so, saying "we'll have to see."

The Allies are also concerned that Trump unilaterally sabotages military exercises in Europe. Trump has decided to cancel joint military exercises with South Korea at its summit with Kim last month. In doing so, Trump called the exercises "provocative", an argument that Putin advanced against the NATO exercises in Eastern Europe

NATO ruin the atmosphere?

Trump's comments on military spending and posture, much of the tension in American relations with the allies comes from problems technically outside of NATO

This includes the rights of 25% of Trump on steel imported and 10% Union and Canada, as well as Trump's decision to withdraw from the Iranian nuclear agreement and the Paris climate agreement against the wishes of the Allies

Before the meeting of the NATO Defense Minister last month, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg "Among the allies.He also warned in a Guardian editorial weeks more later that "nowhere is it written in stone that the transatlantic link will still prosper."

But he also said that NATO could continue its "essential tasks" despite divisions.

"We must remind ourselves that we have already seen some differences in until the 1950s when NATO allies disagreed over the Suez crisis or when France decided to leave the command structure in the 60s Stoltenberg said: "There is no There is nothing new between NATO allies, and what we have seen and felt is that we have been able to unite around NATO's core mission to protect ourselves and others. to defend oneself despite these differences.

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