Republican U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks to reporters as he leads the news media on a tour of the construction site of the Trump International Hotel at the Old Post Office Building in Washington, March 21, 2016. REUTERS/JIM BOURG
Boston Globe/New York Times: Trump proposes putting US first unless allies pay
Donald Trump, the Republican presidential front-runner, said that if elected, he might halt purchases of oil from Saudi Arabia and other Arab allies unless they commit ground troops to the fight against the Islamic State or “substantially reimburse” the United States for combating the militant group, which threatens their stability.
“If Saudi Arabia was without the cloak of American protection,” Trump said during a 100-minute interview on foreign policy, spread over two phone calls, “I don’t think it would be around.”
He also said he would be open to allowing Japan and South Korea to build their own nuclear arsenals rather than depend on the US nuclear umbrella for their protection against North Korea and China. If the United States “keeps on its path, its current path of weakness, they’re going to want to have that anyway, with or without me discussing it,” Trump said.
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WNU Editor: It would be hard to implement such a policy, but I give credit to Donald Trump for at least starting a debate on issues that do need to be debated on.
More News On The New York Times Interview With Donald Trump On His Foreign Policy Views
America's allies are "ripping us off" says Donald Trump -- Telegraph
Trump questions NATO, Asia nuclear weapons ahead of Washington summit -- Reuters
Trump says allies must start paying for ‘American protection’ -- NYPost
US Election 2016: Trump laments 'ripped off' America -- BBC
What Donald Trump's "America First" vision of the world looks like -- CBS
Trump, in NYT interview, elaborates on his foreign policy outlook. Here are 9 key points. -- Washington Post
Viva Mr Donald Trump our new coming president.
ReplyDeleteThis might be a problem for us in Canada, we basically have had the protection of the US since the 1940's. Many of the social programs we have here are because we can skimp on Defense because of the US protection. If we had to defend our self we would need to double or triple our Defense budget. When they brought in Medicare old Trudeau cut National Defense dramatically. Trump will be interesting if he wins.
ReplyDeleteTWN,
ReplyDeleteWe could bring back the militia and build a bomb. We would be able to see to our own defence then... And improve our national health care system, education etc.
All the world needs to know is that an attack on Canada means hell on earth.
It's actually pretty funny, Der Furour, if elected and if he goes forward with this, would break NATO completely.
ReplyDeleteDespite having an economy and military budget larger than all of NATO combined, the US provides only 24% of NATO's funding, and get's highly subsidized Bases from Turkey to Iceland, plus control of hundreds of "joint" projects.
It's been a constant "meme" in the US, because of their highly militaristic society and their general ignorance of the world at large, that the US "carries" NATO, when in fact, NATO heavily subsidizes the US Military, the US "wars of choice", and the US MIC.
Yep, the "allies" have been steady paying tribute for decades in the form of bases and forces not to mention tax dollars that fund the US defence industry and its subsidiaries/branch plants.
DeleteMost, if not all,of NATO's interventions have been primarily at the behest of the US. This is not to say that the vassals, like Canada, had to be dragged kicking and screaming. Ceryain interests have done very well licking spittle.
30 years ago .... when the U.S. presence in western Europe was massive .... the U.S. may have had a case (though it would still be a stretch). Today ... with a fraction of what they use to have in Europe .... claims that the U.S. is propping up NATO are hard to make .... but in a political season where everything is crazy .... Donald Trump is pushing that story and is getting more airtime than anyone else.
ReplyDeletePaying for your "protection"?
ReplyDeleteWho are you Mr. Trump, a mafia boss?
We have already payed, with money, with the reduction of our national sovereignty, with terrorism, with economic losses and the progressive destruction of our welfare system to your free market economy.
Is not more 1962, and if we have to do U.S. pay for the damage done to Europe, starting with the flu pandemic of WW 1 that causes five times more deaths than war itself, are U.S. who need to repay us to be used as weapons and barrier against other peoples.