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International News Title: Merkel vs Trump: German leader warns that Europe can no longer rely on Donald's America and says its leaders must take 'destiny into our own hands' after stormy G7 Summit Angela Merkel has dramatically signaled a move away from Donald Trump - saying Europe can no longer rely on America. It comes just one day after Trump left a stormy G7 Summit in Italy, in which he frustrated Merkel and the other leaders in attendance with his stance towards security, climate change and tax. The German Chancellor urged the European Union to stick together in the face of new uncertainty stemming from the US and other challenges. Merkel said Sunday at a campaign event in Bavaria: 'The times in which we can fully count on others are somewhat over, as I have experienced in the past few days.' The roots of the current relationship between America and Europe go back to world war two and the cold war - when NATO was formed to protect Western Europe from a Soviet invasion. Since the end of World War II, Europe has increasingly relied on America's military might for its defense. Close cooperation through NATO fostered a strong economic and social bond between the member nations. However, Trump has loudly complained about European nations not paying their fair share of the cost of their defense. Now that Merkel has signaled she is moving away from Trump, it could mean a shift in the wider world order. America and Western Europeans countries have traditionally driven the world's agenda - now this could change as Trump and Merkel move further apart. The comments came after the G7 countries were unable to agree to a deal that would see the 2015 Paris climate accords upheld. Merkel on Saturday labelled the result of the 'six against one' discussion 'very difficult, not to say very unsatisfactory'. Trump, who routinely promised during his campaign to abandon the plan, said he needed more time to decide on a path forward. However, he has reportedly told multiple people in private he will withdraw the US from the agreement, according to Axios. Trump tweeted Saturday morning to say he would announce his 'final decision' on the accord this week. He also reportedly described German trade practices as 'bad, very bad,' in Brussels talks last week, complaining that Europe's largest economy sells too many cars to the US. Merkel's speech on Sunday seemed to reflect her changed opinion towards the US under Trump. Trump repeatedly bashed NATO during his campaign and since he took office, accuses countries of 'not paying their share' and bashing the group as 'obsolete'. He made the 'obsolete' comment in the wake of the Brussels terrorist attack in 2016. In an interview this April, Trump claimed he called the organization that because it did not 'focus on terrorism'. However, NATO issued its first formal declaration on counter-terrorism in 1980, and it reviewed the 'terror blueprint' in 2012. It stated at the time: 'The Alliance strives at all times to remain aware of the evolving threat from terrorism; to ensure it has adequate capabilities to prevent, protect against, and respond to terrorist threats.' But despite that incorrect statement, Trump still lectured the other leaders in person on Thursday, declaring: 'Many of these nations owe massive amounts of money from past years.' But most notably in his speech, he also did not offer an explicit public endorsement of NATO’s Article 5, 'all for one, one for all' collective defense principle - which means an attack against one country in the group is seen as an attack on all. During his time as a candidate, Trump had suggested the US might only come to the defense that meet the alliance’s spending guidelines - for committing two per cent of their gross domestic product to military spending. Last year, only five of the 28 countries met the goal: the US, Greece, Britain, Estonia and Poland. Fellow NATO leaders occasionally exchanged awkward looks with each other during the president’s lecture on Thursday, which occurred at an event commemorating the fall of the Berlin Wall and the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. NATO officials had expected Trump to raise the payments issue during Thursday’s meeting, even preparing Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg for the prospect that the president could try to pull off a stunt like handing out invoices. Trump repeatedly bashed NATO during his campaign and since he took office, accuses countries of 'not paying their share' and bashing the group as 'obsolete'. He is pictured on April 12 at the White House But one European official said NATO members were still taken aback by the aggressive tone of his speech. Since his international tour has wrapped up, the Associated Press explained how many of Trump's claims about the defense organization are untrue. His comment about countries 'owning' money was the first to be found wanting by a fact-check. Members of the alliance are not in arrears in their military spending, nor are they in debt to the US, or failing to meet a current standard, and Washington is not trying to collect anything, despite the president’s contention. In a similar fashion, Trump tweeted this week 'pour in' for NATO since he took office. He picked up on that thread on Saturday, telling soldier at a US base in Italy: 'I will tell you, a big difference over the last year, money is actually starting to pour into NATO from countries that would not have been doing what they’re doing now had I not been elected, I can tell you that. Money is starting to pour in.' But again, that is not true, according to the Associated Press. No money is pouring into the organization and countries do not pay the US, nor do they pay NATO directly, apart from administrative expenses, which are not the issue. The issue is how much each NATO member country spends on its own defense. Although the president is right that many NATO countries have agreed to spend more on their military budgets, that is not a result of the NATO summit this past week at which Trump pressed them to do so. The two per cent goal was committed to in 2014, during the Obama administration. During her remarks, the German leader emphasized the need for friendly relations with the US, Britain and Russia, but added: 'We Europeans must really take our destiny into our own hands.' Merkel and Trump have had a frosty relationship, with the Celebrity Apprentice executive producer having called the German leader a 'disaster'. 'What's happening in Germany, I always thought Merkel was like this great leader. What she's done in Germany is insane. It is insane,' he said in 2015. The comment directly contradicted what he said just two months earlier, when he described Merkel as: 'fantastic... highly respected'. Trump also refused to shake Merkel's hand during an awkward photo opportunity at the White House this year. As the two were sat in front of a pack of photographers, Merkel could be heard saying to Trump: 'Do you want to have a handshake?' There was no response from the president, who instead looked ahead with his hands clasped. Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/Latest Begin Trace Mode for Comment # 6.
#3. To: cranky (#0)
Trump's right. NATO is a huge expense, and it's obsolete.
If the US leaves NATO then it looses its ability to directly confront Russia in eastern Europe
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