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Defense Secretary Mattis Issues New Ultimatum to NATO Allies

posted by cmn32480 on Saturday February 18 2017, @09:14PM   Printer-friendly
from the open-yer-wallets dept.

n1 writes:

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, echoing his boss in Washington, warned on Wednesday that the amount of American support for NATO could depend on whether other countries meet their own spending commitments.

"Americans cannot care more for your children's future security than you do," Mr. Mattis said in his first speech to NATO allies since becoming defense secretary. "I owe it to you to give you clarity on the political reality in the United States and to state the fair demand from my country's people in concrete terms."

"America will meet its responsibilities," he said, but he made clear that American support had its limits.

In his speech to NATO defense ministers, Mr. Mattis repeated a call made by previous American secretaries of defense, for European allies to spend more on their militaries. His comments on Wednesday give teeth to President Trump's expressed skepticism about the alliance.

What's more, Mr. Mattis went further than his predecessors in apparently linking American contributions to the alliance to what other countries spend.

"If your nations do not want to see America moderate its commitment to this alliance, each of your capitals needs to show support for our common defense," he said.

Source: The New York Times

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  • (Score: 2, Flamebait) by jmorris on Saturday February 18 2017, @10:52PM

    by jmorris (4844) on Saturday February 18 2017, @10:52PM (#468755)

    Seriously, what did Mattis say that shouldn't have been said decades ago? The amazing thing has been America being stupid (yea I know why certain people have supported this policy, buy why have we kept electing the evil people?) for generations, paying to defend Europe so it could afford to sleep in a welfare socialist dream. Wake up sunshine, reality calling and the world has changed while you slept.

    Beyond that, can someone explain exactly why NATO exists other than the widely known immortality of any government project or program? The Soviet menace is long in the grave and Europe is surrendering to the Islamist threat.

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  • (Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday February 18 2017, @11:56PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday February 18 2017, @11:56PM (#468767)

    umm. Ukraine?