Tornado Alley (PROG)

[ForReal]

Making NATO Stronger’ Again: Alliance Chief Says Trump’s Message Having ‘Real Impact

WASHINGTON, DC — NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, in a speech Wednesday marking the alliance’s 70th anniversary before a joint session of Congress, asserted that U.S. President Donald Trump’s insistence that member nations pay their fair share for their defense “is having a real impact” on increasing spending by allies.

NATO allies must spend more on defense. This has been the clear message from president Trump and this message is having a real impact. After years of reducing defense budgets, all allies have stopped the cuts. And all allies have increased their defense spending. Before they were cutting billions, now they’re adding billions.

Since President Trump’s inauguration, NATO members in Europe and Canada have added $41 billion to their defense budgets, Stoltenberg indicated, adding that the figure is expected to reach $100 billion by the end of next year.

Stoltenberg continued:

This is making NATO stronger. That money will allow us to invest in new capabilities our armed forces need, including advanced fighter aircraft, attack helicopters, missile defense, and surveillance drones. This is good for Europe and is good for America.

America’s NATO allies provide important capabilities, including tens of thousands of intelligence personnel and cyber experts giving the United States better eyes and ears where you need them — from tracking submarines in the Arctic to taking down the cyber networks of ISIS [Islamic State]. And Europe provides the U.S. with a platform to project power around the world.

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2019/04/03/making-nato-stronger-again-alliance-chief-says-trumps-message-having-real-impact/

Remember when Trump shamed Germany during a NATO Luncheon?

In a major shift, Germany will send weapons to Ukraine
In a significant shift, the German government said Saturday it will send weapons and other supplies directly to Ukraine and supports some restrictions of the SWIFT global banking system for Russia

Germany had long stuck to a policy of not exporting deadly weapons to conflict zones, including Ukraine. As recently as Friday, government officials said they would abide by that policy.

But the country — which has the strongest economy in the 27-nation European Union — has faced criticism from Ukrainian officials and other allies that it has not acted decisively enough to help Ukraine fend off the Russian invasion. Previously, Germany contributed 5,000 helmets to Ukraine’s defense, a move that was mocked on Twitter.

https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/major-shift-germany-send-weapons-ukraine-83131834

I know it is hard for the liberal partisans here to admit anything good that happened during the Trump Presidency, but to make accusations that Trump tried to break up NATO is ludicrous and absurd. And Biden is the beneficiary of this, as well as Ukraine and Europe.