| The Pentagon is analyzing the cost and impact of a large-scale withdrawal or transfer of American troops stationed in Germany, amid growing tensions between President Trump and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, according to people familiar with the work.
The effort follows Trump’s expression of interest in removing the troops, made during a meeting earlier this year with White House and military aides, U.S. officials said. Trump was said to have been taken aback by the size of the U.S. presence, which includes about 35,000 active-duty troops, and complained that other countries were not contributing fairly to joint security or paying enough to NATO. Word of the assessment has alarmed European officials, who are scrambling to determine whether Trump actually intends to reposition U.S. forces or whether it is merely a negotiating tactic ahead of a NATO summit in Brussels, where Trump is again likely to criticize U.S. allies for what he deems insufficient defense spending. . . . |
Poster Comment:
Biden was recently bitching in WaPo about what his sources were telling him about how Trump was insulting the EU honchos.
| Biden is referring to how Trump has publicly attacked several European allied leaders, including British Prime Minister Theresa May and particularly German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who is fighting for the survival of her government as Trump criticizes her on Twitter using false statistics.
"Several of them have spoken to me about what was referred to as his gratuitous criticism of Merkel, who is in a tough spot already," said Biden. "They've never seen anything like that before." Trump's behavior in private meetings with several European leaders has caused not only offense but also fundamental confusion over whether the president of the United States remains committed to NATO, the liberal world order and the survival of the European Union, Biden said. One European diplomat told me that in a private White House meeting in March, Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven explained to Trump that Sweden, although not a member of NATO, partners with the alliance on a case-by-case basis. Trump responded that the United States should consider that approach. A senior administration official told me Trump was joking. At the failed Group of Seven summit in Quebec this month, according to the Eurasia Group's Ian Bremmer, Trump disrespected Merkel to her face, throwing two Starburst candies on a desk and saying, "Here, Angela, don't say I never gave you anything." A senior administration official said, "The president has very strong relations with European leaders, but he's willing to take a strong stance to address long-standing issues that do not have easy solutions." |
#1: Liberator To: Tooconservative (#0)
Good on Trump; Let's pull out of Western Europe. AND NATO. Enough of being the military arm of the EU and NWO. Merkel and Co are a far more hostile to US interests than Russia.
We now have much more in common with Eastern Europe, i.e., Poland, Hungary, Austria, sharing anti-statism, pro-national, pro-sovereignty philosophies.
Liberator posted on 2018-06-30 11:18:57 Reply Private Reply
#2: Tooconservative To: Liberator (#1)
Personally, I'd expel the U.N. from NYC before doing either of those.
Of course, we could just agree to all three and reduce the discussion to arguing which should be done first. : )
Trump is going to keep kicking sand in Merkel's face, despite the EU horror that Trump might humiliate her to the point that her government falls. The German press is full of anguished wailing about how America is the true father of the modern united German state, blah-blah-blah, Germany is America's "son", urp-urp-barf...
And here comes Trump, blowing up all this self-aggrandizing Kraut whining: "I ain't your daddy."
Throwing penny candy at Merkel in Canada was a lovely touch. You can almost hear Roger Stone and Stephen Miller chuckling in the distance.
Funny stuff, ripe material for King Troll to have some fun with.
Tooconservative posted on 2018-06-30 11:35:50 Reply Private Reply
#3: misterwhite To: Tooconservative (#0)
Merkel is in a "tough spot" because she admitted one million Muslim refugees from Syria, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Somalia, and Eritrea.
misterwhite posted on 2018-06-30 12:15:31 Reply Private Reply
#4: Tooconservative To: misterwhite (#3)
It's still Trump's fault. You know it is. It has to be.
If you deny that, you're a Nazi.
End Of Discussion.
Tooconservative posted on 2018-06-30 12:44:22 Reply Private Reply
#5: misterwhite To: Tooconservative (#4)
Hey, hey. Racist, sexist, homophobe, OK. But I draw the line at Nazi.
misterwhite posted on 2018-06-30 18:39:55 Reply Private Reply