The NATO alliance is vital to American national security. There is no way entertaining dissolving NATO can serve the USA.
I find the statements by Donald Trump curious, because, I don't believe there is any constituency that would vote for the idea of dissolving NATO. I don't get it.
If money is the focus for alliance with a country there was some of that nonsense within "infortainment' media. That was within the past political year. But, that was more or less experimenting with the potential of picking up voters that were not yet known to the Republican Party. There simply isn't any American that sees NATO without the USA a good idea.
I don't believe there is momentum from Brexit that will dissolve NATO. NATO is very different than the EU.
A USA 'pay as you go strategy' as foreign policy is counter to readiness. There is nothing wrong with a discussion with NATO about sharing costs, but, that is an ongoing discussion that is fluid depending on the impact of any recession in Europe. NATO helps stabilize the economy in Europe, of that I am very sure.
NATO is a peace initiative. I realize the Ukraine opened up confrontation with Russia, but, that threat was eliminated with Minske II.
Approaching its one-year anniversary date,9click here) the February 2015 Minsk II settlement agreement to end the conflict in eastern Ukraine’s Donbass is not faring well. All of its provisions were to have been implemented by Dec. 31, 2015. Few were. Still, Minsk II remains the only settlement arrangement on offer, and it continues to command at least rhetorical support in Kiev and Moscow. For the foreseeable future, however, it appears that Donbass is destined to occupy a place on the list of frozen (or not-so-frozen) conflicts that dot the post-Soviet space....
Russia has become isolated. President Putin has lead self-containment as a national security strategy and he is correct. Russia has been moving into a nationalism since 2012 or so. Building nationalism began when the Olympics became a priority in Russia. That nationalism movement is mostly responsible for the current difficulties by Russia with the Olympic Committee about Rio 2016.
July 21, 2016
The Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) (click here) and 68 Russian athletes attempted to overturn the suspension, implemented by the body that governs world athletics.
But the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas) has ruled it can stand.
A handful of Russian athletes could still compete as neutrals at the Rio Games, which start on 5 August.
"It's sad but rules are rules," said Olympic 100m and 200m champion Usain Bolt, who is targeting more gold medals in Rio.
He said it was important to send a strong message to the dopers.
"Doping violations in track and field is getting really bad," said the Jamaican, 29. "If you cheat or go or against the rules, this will scare a lot of people."
However, Russian pole vaulter Yelena Isinbayeva - one of the 68 to appeal to Cas - said the ruling was "a blatant political order"....
But, Russia is isolated because of the financial sanctions placed after there was a violation of the Ukraine agreement that removed nuclear weapons from the Post-Soviet country. President Putin was correct in assessing that Russia needs self-containment in order to survive. There is also the implementation of the Russia Economic Alliance.
Part of what is playing out in the Pacific is a debate between Russia and China, their friendship agreement and the potential of the West as a threat. One has to realize the 'powder keg' that exists with the USA, Russia and China. Really silly stuff is going on such as China relying on it's muscle rather than it's diplomacy and legal prowess at The Hague regarding it's borders. To think for one minute at this delegate time in history NATO has to 'pay as they go' is not even close to 'doable' policy for the USA.
I agree that sincere peace does not require huge stationing of weapons or alliances, but, we aren't there yet. I think we can be getting close to a point whereby Russia and China realizes there is no war to be fought for sovereign borders, but, more a healing of 'old ghosts' of international tensions.
I don't believe there is momentum from Brexit that will dissolve NATO. NATO is very different than the EU.
A USA 'pay as you go strategy' as foreign policy is counter to readiness. There is nothing wrong with a discussion with NATO about sharing costs, but, that is an ongoing discussion that is fluid depending on the impact of any recession in Europe. NATO helps stabilize the economy in Europe, of that I am very sure.
NATO is a peace initiative. I realize the Ukraine opened up confrontation with Russia, but, that threat was eliminated with Minske II.
Approaching its one-year anniversary date,9click here) the February 2015 Minsk II settlement agreement to end the conflict in eastern Ukraine’s Donbass is not faring well. All of its provisions were to have been implemented by Dec. 31, 2015. Few were. Still, Minsk II remains the only settlement arrangement on offer, and it continues to command at least rhetorical support in Kiev and Moscow. For the foreseeable future, however, it appears that Donbass is destined to occupy a place on the list of frozen (or not-so-frozen) conflicts that dot the post-Soviet space....
Russia has become isolated. President Putin has lead self-containment as a national security strategy and he is correct. Russia has been moving into a nationalism since 2012 or so. Building nationalism began when the Olympics became a priority in Russia. That nationalism movement is mostly responsible for the current difficulties by Russia with the Olympic Committee about Rio 2016.
July 21, 2016
The Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) (click here) and 68 Russian athletes attempted to overturn the suspension, implemented by the body that governs world athletics.
But the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas) has ruled it can stand.
A handful of Russian athletes could still compete as neutrals at the Rio Games, which start on 5 August.
"It's sad but rules are rules," said Olympic 100m and 200m champion Usain Bolt, who is targeting more gold medals in Rio.
He said it was important to send a strong message to the dopers.
"Doping violations in track and field is getting really bad," said the Jamaican, 29. "If you cheat or go or against the rules, this will scare a lot of people."
However, Russian pole vaulter Yelena Isinbayeva - one of the 68 to appeal to Cas - said the ruling was "a blatant political order"....
But, Russia is isolated because of the financial sanctions placed after there was a violation of the Ukraine agreement that removed nuclear weapons from the Post-Soviet country. President Putin was correct in assessing that Russia needs self-containment in order to survive. There is also the implementation of the Russia Economic Alliance.
Part of what is playing out in the Pacific is a debate between Russia and China, their friendship agreement and the potential of the West as a threat. One has to realize the 'powder keg' that exists with the USA, Russia and China. Really silly stuff is going on such as China relying on it's muscle rather than it's diplomacy and legal prowess at The Hague regarding it's borders. To think for one minute at this delegate time in history NATO has to 'pay as they go' is not even close to 'doable' policy for the USA.
I agree that sincere peace does not require huge stationing of weapons or alliances, but, we aren't there yet. I think we can be getting close to a point whereby Russia and China realizes there is no war to be fought for sovereign borders, but, more a healing of 'old ghosts' of international tensions.
July 27. 2016
By Cassandra Vinograd
London — Donald Trump set off alarm bells in European (click here) capitals Thursday after suggesting he might not honor the core tenet of the NATO military alliance.
By Cassandra Vinograd
London — Donald Trump set off alarm bells in European (click here) capitals Thursday after suggesting he might not honor the core tenet of the NATO military alliance.
Trump said the U.S. would not necessarily defend new NATO members in the Baltics in the event of Russian attack if he were elected to the White House.
He told The New York Times in an interview published Thursday that doing so would depend on whether those countries had "fulfilled their obligations to us" in terms of their financial contributions to the alliance.
"You can't forget the bills," Trump told the paper. "They have an obligation to make payments. Many NATO nations are not making payments, are not making what they're supposed to make. That's a big thing. You can't say forget that."
The comments were perceived by some analysts as carte blanche for Russia to intimidate NATO allies and a potential harbinger of the alliance's collapse were Trump to be elected....
