Trump's trip to NATO shows that "America First" is "America Alone"

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President Trump arrived in Brussels with a clear message: it is time for America to put an end to the EU bill. His complaint is not new to European leaders, who have withstood Trump's attacks on the transatlantic system for more than a year, but this is becoming more and more troubling.

The NATO summit that starts on Wednesday will be completely Trump's irritation with the alliance and the inability or reluctance of many of its members to establish their military budgets at the level of recommended 2% of gross domestic product. Before the arrival of Trump in Brussels, he published tweets linking his dislike of NATO with his wider anger over trade relations with the European Union:

European observers worry about Trump's connection to both issues, a position still based on a misunderstanding of the way things work. # 39; alliance. "If it's really a threat that binds security to trade, it can destroy the NATO base," said Stefano Stefanini, Italy's former ambassador to NATO, to my colleague Michael Birnbaum

. will spoil the unity of the summit with harangues before flying to Helsinki for a much more friendly meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, "commented the editorial board of the Washington Post." C & # The fact is that, having ignored NATO's strong support for its national security team, it is seeking to destroy a multilateral organization that it considers obsolete and a means for European nations to US spending. "[19659008] Meanwhile, Trump has also routinely fought off allies like French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel on issues such as trade, climate change and the agreement with Iran.The tariffs it imposed on European steel and aluminum, which came into effect on Friday, are likely to trigger a trade war. [19659008] Such measures have been "corrosi are for relations with allies who believe more and more that Trump-on trade, NATO and diplomacy "It's a bit like if your parents were questioning about their love for you," said Norbert Röttgen , at the following address: the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the German Parliament, Susan Glasser, of the New Yorker, last month. "He has already entered the subconscious."

After Brussels, Trump travels to Britain for a meeting with British Prime Minister Theresa May, whose government may be about to collapse on internal disputes over Brexit. He will then travel to Helsinki for his first formal summit with Putin, a meeting that Trump himself said was perhaps "the easiest of all."

Despite the insistence of the administration Trump, his "America First" program does not really mean "

In the months to come Indeed, the Trump stop in Brussels can only be considered as a footnote to Putin's meeting . "Because the meeting takes place after the summit of NATO any achievement in Brussels could be easily erased by promises that Trump makes to Putin on a whim," writes Rachel Rizzo of the Center for New American Security. Washington. "Given Trump's negotiating style, the Allies are justifiably afraid to tell Putin that he will withdraw some American troops from Eastern Europe, or stop the participation. the United States to NATO exercises as a sign of goodwill.This would send European allies into a frenzy. "

There are also fears that Trump might somehow recognize the annexation of Crimea by Russia in 2014. "This is such a fundamental issue," said a NATO diplomat at Birnbaum. "This would legalize a whole series of actions.If you have the power, the raw conventional military power, you can do what you want."

"Now I am depressed," added the diplomat. "The fact that we even think about it."

Some American allies have tried to push back. Before the arrival of Trump, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg offered a polite, albeit innocuous, defense of the alliance, published by the Wall Street Journal

"After several years of decline, the allies have put an end to spending cuts, "he wrote, arguing that Europe is doing much more to strengthen its own collective security." Last year, the allies of NATO increased their defense budgets by 5.2%, which represents the largest increase, in real terms, in a quarter of a century.Mr Stoltenberg concluded that "everyone knows that". there are differences between NATO countries on serious issues such as trade, climate change and the Iranian nuclear deal ", but he insisted that the shared history has "Taught a simple but powerful lesson: United, we are stronger and safer."

Some analysts do not believe Not that it is worth it to soothe Trump's intimidation. New European efforts will never be enough "

" If the Europeans parked a brand new aircraft carrier off Mar-a-Lago and threw the keys on the 18th green, Trump would just ask them gaming fees, "Jeremy Shapiro wrote. of the European Council of Foreign Relations. "In the end, he does not believe in the idea that America should defend Europe, so why should the United States pay for anything? He is interested in it if he makes a profit. "

Donald Tusk, president of the European Council who was outspoken in his criticism of Trump, made no excuses in a speech on Tuesday where he mounted a defense of Europe before the start of the NATO summit.

"Dear President Trump: America does not have and will not have a better ally than Europe.Today, Europeans are spending a lot more on defense than Russia and as much as China, "said Tusk. He urged Trump to think more clearly about "who your strategic friend is and who your strategic problem is", a direct nod to the next summit with Putin. "Dear America, appreciate your allies," Tusk said. "After all, you do not have that much."

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