Trump's NATO demands, explained – CNNPolitics



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But even if his statements obscure the functioning of NATO, the underlying subject remains the one his predecessors were also confronted with. And NATO leaders have already awarded Trump the overall increase in defense spending, even though the number of members meeting the target set remains low.

Here's what you need to know about Trump's combative approach to NATO. alliance:

Established in 1949, the Charter of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization states that the signatories "will seek to promote stability and well-being in the North Atlantic" and "will unite their efforts for collective defense and the preservation of peace" and security. "There are currently 29 NATO members.The group's headquarters are in Brussels, where the leaders of the member states will meet on July 11 and 12 for a summit

How NATO is it funded?

NATO is based on the principle of collective defense, which means that members must keep their own armed forces in a position to fight in the event that they are called upon to defend an ally. To achieve this goal, members should spend a certain amount on their own defense budgets.In 2006, NATO set an official target that members spend on defense: 2% of their domestic product This figure was reaffirmed at a summit in 2014. But the target is only described as a "guideline", and there is no penalty for not respecting it.

  Europe fears that it will occupy a special place in Trump hell & # 39;

Member states also pay in NATO to cover common civilian and military costs, and no nation is behind these payments. Instead, it's the issue of defense spending that has caused the most controversy between Trump and the other members.

What will Trump say at the top?

Clearly, Trump is heading to next week. summit prepared to take the leaders to task so as not to spend enough on defense. This is a problem he has been focusing on since he was a candidate, even though he used deceptive language to describe it. Trump has described his allies as not paying their dues and having to pay back payments to NATO, while in reality the deficits come in the nations' own annual defense spending. No country is late in payments to NATO.

More recently, Trump lamented at a political rally that the US "spends 90% of NATO," an imprecise assertion that obscures the way that NATO actually works. Total US military spending is about 70% of what all NATO members spend on defense, but not all of these US expenditures apply to NATO.

Why did Trump fail?

In his office, Trump believes that the United States is often trapped in the protection and financing of the rest of the world, often to the detriment of American workers and industries. His message was echoed by white-collar workers, who saw their government help other countries while leaving them behind. People close to Trump say that he considers NATO as an example of the United States protecting the world while getting little back. He emphasized this point of view at a political rally last month: "Now everything is wonderful and we like to help, but it helps them – they are in Europe! It helps them a lot more than it helps us Far from it! "

In reality, the principle of collective defense of NATO was only invoked once, after the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001 against the United States. The United States helped to conduct counterterrorism missions after the attack and eventually led the Afghan Army Reconstruction Mission after the United States invaded the country. International Security Assistance Force included troops of all members of NATO

What Trump told the leaders?

In letters addressed to Members of NATO last month, Trump reinforced his demands He wrote to German Chancellor Angela Merke l that "we must find a way to overcome domestic obstacles in the interest of our collective security" and described his own political exposure in the matter: "I understand the internal political pressures NYT: Trump sends letters to allies of NATO demanding increased defense spending "data-src-mini =" // cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/180427123420-trump-merkle-4-27-small-169.jpg " data-src-xsmall = "// cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/180427123420-trump-merkle-4-27-medium-plus-169.jpg" data-src-small = "http: // cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/180427123420-trump-merkle-4-27-large-169.jpg "data-src-medium =" // cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/180427123420 -trump-merkle-4-27-exlarge-169.jpg "data-src-large =" // cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/180427123420-trump-merkle-4-27-super-169. jpg "data-src-full16x9 =" // cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/180427123420-trump-merkle-4-27-full-169.jpg "data-src-mini1x1 =" // cdn. cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/180427123420-trump-merk le-4-27-small-11.jpg "data-demand-load =" not-loaded "data-eq-pts =" mini: 0, xsmall: 221, small: 308, medium: 461, wide: 781 " src = "data: image / gif; base64, R0lGODlhEAAJAJEAAAAAAP /////// wAAACH5BAEAAAIALAAAAAAQAAkAAAIKlI + py + 0Po5yUFQA7" />

How does this differ from the past?

Donald Trump's immediate predecessors, Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush, urged NATO allies to spend more on their armed forces, but their approach was not as combative as that of Trump.

pay for the assets, the personnel, the training necessary to make sure that we have a credible NATO force and an effective deterrent, "Obama said at the same time. a press conference in 2014. Conference in Brussels shortly after the annexation of Crimea by Russia, "So one of the things I think, in the medium and long term, is whether everyone is "

question in almost every conversation about NATO.And in his remarks and letters to world leaders, Trump suggested that the US commitment NATO could be at stake if spending did not increase. "Addressing Merkel, Trump warned that it would be" harder and harder to justify to US citizens why some countries do not share the burden of NATO's collective security as US soldiers continue to sacrifice their lives e or to get seriously injured. "

Does Trump's Approach Work?

NATO leaders say that's the case. "This really has an impact because … the allies are now spending more on defense," Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said in May, as he was visiting Trump at the White House. "Allies increase defense budgets."

In March, Stoltenberg said that alliance members had increased defense spending for the third year in a row. But still, only a fraction of the alliance meets the guideline of 2% of GDP. NATO said in March that only eight of the 29 member states would reach this threshold this year.

Trump's critics argue that his tactics are not helpful. They worry that in Europe, where the president is deeply unpopular, haranguing leaders to increase defense spending could have the opposite effect.

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