The same message Candidate Trump was trying to articulate this past year while campaigning but with a more tempered approach. Delivered in a way those diplomats will understand and yet, may not declare "oh he's going to abandon us."“I owe it to you all 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,” Mattis said. “America will meet its responsibilities, but if your nations do not want to see America moderate its commitment to the alliance, each of your capitals needs to show its support for our common defense.”
“No longer can the American taxpayer carry a disproportionate share of the defense of western values,” Mattis said.
“Americans cannot care more for your children’s security than you do. Disregard for military readiness demonstrates a lack of respect for ourselves, for the Alliance, and for the freedoms we inherited, which are now clearly threatened.”
“Fellow ministers, when the Cold War ended we all had hopes,” Mattis said. “The year 2014 awakened us to a new reality: Russia used force to alter the borders of one of its sovereign neighbors, and on Turkey’s border (the Islamic State) emerged and introduced a ruthless breed of terror, intent on seizing territory and establishing a caliphate. While these events have unfolded before our eyes, some in this alliance have looked away in denial of what was happening.”
And we keep pumping billions and billions of dollars into this organization to allow those European weenies to call us names and disparage us while we do the lion's share of paying for their defense? I wonder if we let one fall how fast the others would pay up?In theory, NATO nations are supposed to be spending at least 2 percent of their Gross Domestic Product on defense. Only Britain, Estonia, Poland, Greece and the United States do so.
According to a NATO report, France spends 1.78 percent of its GDP on defense; Germany 1.19 percent; Italy 1.11 percent and Turkey 1.56 percent. Some countries have said they will increase spending, but will not hit the 2 percent mark until 2020 or 2024.
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