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LISTEN NOW! (Or WATCH FULL PROGRAM!) As President Trump neared the close of his first international trip, he was present at the NATO summit and met with many European leaders to discuss many important matters. He also took time to spend with Japan’s Prime Minister, Shinzō Abe, after the Summit. President Trump was quick to share about what they would be focusing on during their time together.
We’ll be discussing terrorism, but I think we will really be, in particular, focused on the North Korean problem. It’s a big problem, it’s a world problem, and it will be solved. At some point, it will be solved. You can bet on that. Prime Minster Abe shared his encouragement of the President’s recent trip to the Middle East and their time during the Summit. “I’d like to congratulate you on your successful visit to the Middle East region, as well as your participation in the NATO summit. And through your visit, I understand that you have demonstrated robust commitment to ensuring global security. And I highly value your commitment.” Prime Minister Abe continued to speak on the long-standing partnership between our two nations. “I would like to reconfirm our close partnership, as well as collaboration, in addressing those of the challenges.”
It’s important to remember that our two nations were once enemies, but we are now close allies. Japan’s military is America’s military. We closely protect Japan. It is such an encouraging moment to see these two leaders closely collaborating about the now issues. As the President spoke about vital issues with Prime Minister Abe, he also spoke at the recent NATO Summit about the importance of all members paying their due costs for defense spending.
NATO is the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and is made up of 28 members focusing mainly in Europe and North America. As CBNC International explains, “Each member of NATO has an equal say in discussions and decisions.” What is additionally important to understand is the recourse of action if any of these 28 members were to find themselves in war. According to Article 5, “It states that an attack on one country is, in theory, an attack against all members”. Essentially, every member is there for one another during a time of war as all members contribute a minimum of 2% of their GDP towards the Alliance’s defense spending. As CNBC International continues, “that target is rarely met. In 2015, the median spend was just 1.18%. The United States spent a whopping 3.7%. That means that America accounted for some 70% of the alliance’s total defense spending and it is only one of 5 countries to spend more than 2%.” There has been controversy towards President Trump’s stance on NATO. “During his Presidential election campaign, Donald Trump threatened to pull out of the treaty, calling it ‘obsolete.’ He also said the U.S. would only help countries that paid their fair share.” This is a crucial background to understand as President Trump addressed this topic at the recent 2017 G7 Summit.
As President Trump takes a moment of silence to remember the horrific events of evil that just took place in Manchester, he stands alongside twisted pieces of metal from the North Towers in New York City during the 9/11 Terrorist attack, and pieces of the Berlin Wall. He also spoke on his recent trip to Saudi Arabia and the urgency to combat extremism and terrorism. With these tragedies near in our hearts and minds, President Trump underscores the urgency of defense readiness, and to do so there must be legitimate funding where it is needed. “These grave security concerns are the same reason that I have been very, very direct with Secretary Stoltenberg and members of the Alliance in saying that NATO members must finally contribute their fair share and meet their financial obligations, for 23 of the 28 member nations are still not paying what they should be paying and what they’re supposed to be paying for their defense.” President Trump fully understands that America’s repeated funding above and beyond the prescribed 2% of GDP, simply is not fair to those who are fronting that bill; the American taxpayer.
“Over the last eight years, the United States spent more on defense than all other NATO countries combined.”It would be a massively different story if every member met the 2% GDP expectation. “If all NATO members had spent just 2 percent of their GDP on defense last year, we would have had another $119 billion for our collective defense and for the financing of additional NATO reserves.” The President continues to underscore this very pressing, and urgent issue. “Two percent is the bare minimum for confronting today’s very real and very vicious threats. If NATO countries made their full and complete contributions, then NATO would be even stronger than it is today, especially from the threat of terrorism.”
It is refreshing to see the President taking such a bold and open stance amongst so many international leaders. We must continue to pray for the President and his Cabinet. See the full story of the President’s time with Japan’s Prime Minister Abe, his full comments at the G7 Summit, and so much more. Also, shared in this segment: North Korea, Japan, Japanese military, President Donald Trump, The White House, Canada, Germany, Italy, United Kingdom, and France. Greg and John shared in this segment.
screen capture from youtube.com/The White House
screen capture from youtube.com/The White House
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