Donald Trump's NATO comments are the scariest thing he's said

I read the transcript too and I don't think it's that bad. It makes sense to me. If other NATO members are really under contributing their fair share then that really means USA is paying for almost everything.

 

Everything is about money for Trump. Watch...if he is elected...there will be a scandal about him using his office to enrich himself and his spawn. The guy is crooked.

 

Those of us with a functioning brain. Even you, DD!

;-)-

 

Giving Putin encouragement to take military action against NATO nations is one of the most mindless things I think any politician could ever do. It defies logic.

 

CNN is gold right now.

 

Yes because humanity can exist in only two states: "this current mess" or world war. What on earth are you talking about?

 

Probably the single biggest mistake of the Obama presidency.

This current mess these past presidents have made is being the most powerful economy for 75 years, the most powerful military power for 75 years, no wars on domestic soil, and an environment of peace and security that has allowed our civic sphere to flourish in culture and innovation. That's the mess you want to fix? Yeah, we've got some problems, some things we'd like to control that we can't control, but in the context of the last couple of millenia, the success of the United States has been astounding. Most of those guys quoted I don't even like, but to say they've dropped us in some kind of mess is ridiculous.

 

What a really stupid thing to say imo.

 

THESIS:

Trump is not so sure it's the role of the United States to go around the world saying "this is the way we're gonna protect you". So, he's not exactly sure what everyone is saying. He thinks one way for us to be viewed as the "ugly American" is to go around the world saying "we're gonna protect you this way, and so should you". He just doesn't think it's the role of the United States to walk into a country and say "we're gonna protect you this way, and so should you".

If we're an arrogant nation, they'll resent us. If we're a humble nation but strong, they'll welcome us. Maybe Trump misunderstands where everyone is coming from but Trump thinks the United States must be humble. We must be humble with nations figuring out how to chart their course.

EXAMPLE:

Ukraine started off as nation protecting mission and turned into a nation destroying mission. The mission was changed, and as a result our nation paid a price. Trump does NOT think our troops should be used for nation protecting.

He thinks what we need to do is convince people living in the nations to protect themselves. Maybe he's missing something here, are we gonna have some sort of "Nation Protecting Corps from America"?

POINTS:

1. If we don't stop extending our troops around the world in nation protecting missions, then we're going to have a serious problem on down the road and Trump is going to prevent that.
2. He's concerned we're over deployed around the world. He doesn't want us to be the world's policeman.
3. The force must be strong enough...so that the...mission can be accomplished, and the exit strategy must be well defined.

SUMMARY:

Trump thinks everyone is sick and tired of the bitterness in Washington DC, and therefore don't want any part of politics. They see Hillary Clinton pointing fingers and casting blame; and saying one thing and doing another.

ACTION:

It needs somebody in office who will tell the truth.

That's the best way to get people back in the system.

¡Trump! 2016
It's only four or eight years

 

I doubt Melania approves of her husband's stance on this. She was raised to believe your word is your bond and you do what you say and keep your promise.

 

...and Slovenia is below the 2% of GDP threshold.

 

And I said so at the time, just as I said that going into Iraq after 9/11 was madness. That we would deeply regret it. There are times I wish I had been wrong.

 

Dam twice in one year we agree on something this man is a total fool.

 

Gonna play devil's advocate a bit.

What exactly is so scary about telling other countries that they need to hold up their end of treaties they sign?

 

Isn't that exactly what he is telling the other NATO countries they need to do? ???

 

I don't think Obama has done a good job with Syria but I think too much is being made regarding tthe redline. Syria did end up destroying it's stockpiles and since then reports of chemical weapons use seem to come from DAESH using them.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Destruction_of_Syria's_chemical_weapons

 

Trump does have a point but at a time when Russia has been making aggressive moves and many NATO countries feel very uncertain this might not be a good time to bring this up.

 

It's scary because Putin has already been militarily aggressive towards Baltic nations.

If someone who's going to be president announces to Putin, that members of NATO won't actually have mutual defense from the U.S., it's letting Putin know that he's free to invade those countries without any fear of retribution.

If you've seen or care to research Putin's actions and rhetoric we know that isn't a good idea.

Putin needs to understand that we will honor our obligation to our NATO allies, which will prevent him from attacking and invading those allies.

That's the first way that it's scary.

The second way that it's scary is that if we allow Putin to keep moving towards reconstituting the Soviet Union, it will increase his own power, create more unrest in the region, etc.

The third way that it's scary is that, it shows Trump doesn't understand how treaties work, how alliances work, how Putin works, the importance of alliances, and a lack of knowledge about effective problem solving.

In all of those ways, it's scary.

Yes, each nation should uphold their end of the treaty. But letting Putin know that certain nations are there for his taking isn't the best way to get them to uphold their end of the treaty.

A statesman could even tell the leaders of those nations that they will be lower down on the defense priority if they don't pay, but it's wrong and dangerous to put that out in the public for Putin to hear and act upon.