Thursday, April 13, 2017

President Trump: NATO Is No Longer Obsolete





Washington Post: Trump on NATO: ‘I said it was obsolete. It’s no longer obsolete.’

President Trump on Wednesday pledged his full support to NATO, reaffirming the United States' commitment to the alliance and saying he no longer considers it “obsolete,” a sharp reversal from his rhetoric on the campaign trail and during his first weeks in office.

On a day when Trump dramatically changed his stance on several policy positions, his statement about NATO stood out given his consistent criticism of the military alliance and its importance to U.S. allies.

For more than a year, Trump has said NATO is outdated and costing the United States too much money, suggesting replacing it with an alternative organization focused on counterterrorism and repeatedly using the word “obsolete.” As recently as January, Trump continued to stand by this position — which alarmed many NATO members — saying in a Jan. 15 interview with the Times of London and Germany’s Bild that NATO is “obsolete because it wasn’t taking care of terror” and that critics of his comments have “started saying Trump is right.”

Read more ....

More News On President Trump's Remarks That NATO Is No Longer Obsolete

Trump Reverses on NATO: ‘It Is No Longer Obsolete’ -- NBC
Trump says Nato 'no longer obsolete' -- BBC
Trump says NATO is 'no longer obsolete' -- DW
'No longer obsolete': Trump backtracks on Nato with Russia tensions rising -- The Guardian
Trump, In A 180-Degree Switch, Says NATO 'No Longer Obsolete' -- NPR
Trump reverses on NATO: ‘It’s no longer obsolete’ -- Politico

7 comments:

James said...

Since his inauguration, this is the most fascinating foreign policy statement he has made: " ‘I said it was obsolete. It’s no longer obsolete.’"

B.Poster said...

James,

Sometimes people begin with a set of beliefs and then as more information comes in and assuming they are open minded and not wed to an ideology or blinded by an ideology they update their beliefs and are often change them as the new facts become available and assimilated.

Rarely does a person begin with a correct opinion on something and then change to an incorrect one. "NATO is obsolete and is costing the US money. In other words, it is a net drain on the US in terms of its national defense and its economy." This is a correct statement. Candidate Trump and POTUS Trump in January had this absolutely right and was hired by the American to, among other things, change the nature of this relationship.

I saw where Montenegro recently joined NATO and the leaders of Montenegro were all giddy. Now the US is responsible for Montenegro's defense. Did anyone even bother to ask how Montenegro plans to contribute to America's defense or economy. In other words investments that only have costs associated with them without a corresponding benefit are bad investments.

James said...

B.
Thanks for the reply, but none of that has anything to do with what I'm thinking. Nor is it to imply that what Trump said was good or bad, merely that it was fascinating in another context.

James said...

WNU,
Before I forget, thanks for this post.

Jay Farquharson said...

https://mobile.twitter.com/mkraju/status/852252612166656002?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fmockpaperscissors.com%2F

"Trump today shifted positions on Ex/Im Bank, Yellen, China currency manipulation, and NATO being "obsolete."

B.Poster said...

James,

You are right this is fascinating. As stated elsewhere, I am trying to reinvent myself here and will try and be less shrill, have a better sense of humor, and try not to draw conclusions as quickly as I may have in the past before the examination of all pertinent facts.

With that said we look at news sources from multiple sources, we read , we cross read, then we look at still more sources, and we read and cross read still some more all while reading each source again and again to make sure we did not miss something. Furthermore we (at least I) know if we post enough at sites like this we will get some things wrong and will occasionally even say something stupid. As a prominent now retired blogger once said to paraphrase "if I post on multiple topics every day occasionally I will say something stupid." I have no doubt that I have done this. Oh well I'm digressing here.

The point of the post was not to argue with you or to disagree with you. According to candidate Trump NATO was/is obsolete. In my considered opinion, candidate Trump was 100% spot on and I have not seen any evidence that would change my mind on this. In fact, what I have seen only reinforces the theory that NATO is obsolete.

I agree with you this is fascinating. What caused Mr. Trump to change his mind? Since humans are not all knowing, those who are wise will be forced to alter their opinions on many things throughout their lives as new information becomes available. Someone should ask Mr. Trump, "Mr. President during the campaign you said NATO is obsolete. What happened to cause you to change your mind on this?"

This would be an excellent question for a reporter to ask him. Unfortunately I don't think they will. When candidate Trump said this, he was vilified by the media. Now that he has shifted his postion, they are not vilifying him as much or so it seems.

James said...

B.
You're doing just fine. Don't worry so much what a derelict like me says. Hell half the time I don't know what I'm thinking.