Donald Trump's return could leave Europe 'on its own', De Croo warns

[nauseus]

2 minutes ago, placeholder said:

What do you expect Stoltenberg to say? Enrage Trump who may well be elected again?

 

I expected him to say exactly what he said.

 

Budgets were always Trump's complaint.

[placeholder]

3 minutes ago, nauseus said:

 

I expected him to say exactly what he said.

 

Budgets were always Trump's complaint.

What the ignoramus failed to note that there was an agreement in place to raise the level of funding to a certain level by, I believe, 2026

[candide]

1 hour ago, Hanaguma said:

Please get real. The combined GDP of the EU  is more than 10 times that of Russia. You can't seriously think that they are threatened in any way? 

You are right that Europe (not necessarily restricted to the EU: the current NATO members) has the means to defend itself, even with the current budget. The problem is that It's just an addition of armies, each targeted at defending its own country. It raises several issues:

- Expenses are not optimised at the European level, I.e. there are unnecessary duplications of the same means in each country, and some common investments may be missing,

- There is no strategic sovereignty as European countries depend to a large extent from American suppliers. They have the technology but there is no policy. There are also no European level strategic arms stocks.

- There is no European nuclear shield. France or UK likely won't send nukes to defend other countries. It would be necessary that at least Germany would become a nuclear power (interesting).

[Liverpool Lou]

15 hours ago, Tug said:

Left to Putin’s tender mercy’s as trump ... destroys the American economy collapsing the world economy 

You're getting him confused with that Joe Biden pot plant.

[OneMoreFarang]

If Trump wants to leave Europe alone, fine.

I suggest the Europeans should ask him to get that in writing.

 

 

[candide]

43 minutes ago, nauseus said:

 

Actually increased NATO member budgets started before the Russian invasion.

Ok, a little bit: from 1.48% in 2017, to 1.54% in 2019.

[candide]

13 minutes ago, Liverpool Lou said:

You're getting him confused with that Joe Biden pot plant.

Surely not. The U.S. has been drawing the other countries up!

https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/sn02784/

[nauseus]

27 minutes ago, placeholder said:

What the ignoramus failed to note that there was an agreement in place to raise the level of funding to a certain level by, I believe, 2026

 

From the link:

 

https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/topics_67655.htm

 

At the Wales Summit in 2014, in response to Russia's illegal annexation of Crimea and the turmoil in the Middle East, NATO Leaders agreed to reverse the trend of declining defence budgets and decided:

 

Allies currently meeting the 2% guideline on defence spending will aim to continue to do so;

 

Allies whose current proportion of GDP spent on defence is below this level will: halt any decline; aim to increase defence expenditure in real terms as GDP grows; and aim to move towards the 2% guideline within a decade with a view to meeting their NATO Capability Targets and filling NATO's capability shortfalls.

 

- - - 

 

What your "ignoramus" did note was that many of the laggards were not increasing their own military budgets enough to reach the 2% target, even by 2024 (see Candide's post).

 

Of course, what happened in 2022 encouraged some more rapid increases. 

[retarius]

My hope for the crowning achievement of a Trump presidency is that he disbands NATO.

[nauseus]

20 minutes ago, candide said:

Ok, a little bit: from 1.48% in 2017, to 1.54% in 2019.

Better than nothing? 

[Lacessit]

2 hours ago, Hanaguma said:

Please get real. The combined GDP of the EU  is more than 10 times that of Russia. You can't seriously think that they are threatened in any way? 

Please get real. The GDP of South Korea is 1.8 trillion. The GDP of North Korea ( estimated ) is 100 billion. Who is the greater threat in the region?

[scottiejohn]

2 minutes ago, retarius said:

My hope for the crowning achievement of a Trump presidency is that he disbands NATO.

And let/invite Putin to take over Europe?

[nauseus]

3 minutes ago, retarius said:

My hope for the crowning achievement of a Trump presidency is that he disbands NATO.

 

Are you from Russia?

 

Trump can't disband NATO. I'm not even sure he can take the US out by executive order, either.

[nauseus]

Just now, Lacessit said:

Please get real. The GDP of South Korea is 1.8 trillion. The GDP of North Korea ( estimated ) is 100 billion. Who is the greater threat in the region?

 

Fair point.

[Lacessit]

5 minutes ago, retarius said:

My hope for the crowning achievement of a Trump presidency is that he disbands NATO.

I guess that means no other country in the world should trust America, including Australia.

[candide]

15 minutes ago, retarius said:

My hope for the crowning achievement of a Trump presidency is that he disbands NATO.

Your post is a good example of how Russia's propaganda is efficient!

[Georgealbert]

14 minutes ago, retarius said:

My hope for the crowning achievement of a Trump presidency is that he disbands NATO.

Most ridiculous post of the day, but only just beating the post about trying to buy a new 2G phone in another thread 🤡

[scottiejohn]

7 minutes ago, candide said:

Your post is a good example of how Russia's propaganda is efficient!

Typical MAGA, so called intellect, on full display in all it's inglorious lack of thought or detail!

They just regurgitate the rhetoric but not the logic of any subsequent outcome they follow/propose!

Edited January 18 by scottiejohn

[Lacessit]

31 minutes ago, candide said:

Surely not. The U.S. has been drawing the other countries up!

https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/sn02784/

It's why Trump has publicly stated he wants the US economy to crash, the comparison of his administration's economic performance with that of Biden is not flattering.

Of course, his rusted-on base would not even know the meaning of the acronym.

[Walker88]

6 hours ago, JonnyF said:

Another benefit of Trump being elected. 

 

The rest of the world is getting tired of "Oirish Joe" interfering in their affairs. Thankfully he will be gone soon. He can retire and get back to playing the banjo.

 

And here's another 'benefit' of having a traitor like trump...

 

Liaison cooperation will cease. No more sharing intel on things like nuclear proliferation, illegal arms sales, sales of fissionable material, terrorism, etc., because liaison entities who have good clandestine sources will fear trump exposing them. The clown stole highly classified documents, some of which were HCS (human clandestine sources, which even Presidents have 'no need to know'...but trump got from the two lackeys he stuck into DNI, Grenell and Ratcliffe). In a meeting with Russian FM Lavrov and Amb Kislyak, trump exposed an Israeli penetration of a terrorist group, leading to the asset's beheading.

 

Also, potential clandestine assets for the agency in places like Russia, China, Iran, North Korea or in terrorist groups will think twice about cooperating or being recruited, as they have seen what a reckless clown trump is. They would not want to get exposed and have themselves or their families threatened with death. Already because of trump's big mouth and need to show off, clandestine assets had to be ex-filled.

 

So if you like things like Russians helping terror groups get fissionable material for dirty bombs or terrorist developing bioweapons and planning to use them against US cities, you'll like trump 2.0. Maybe you or your loved ones get killed in a terror attack or a plane blown out of the sky...no harm done, I guess.

 

The good news part of this is that if liaison sources obtain credible information of a plan to assassinate trump, they will hold that intel and not pass it to the agency, and then just sit back with their popcorn and wait until the coward is taken out.

[Walker88]

1 hour ago, retarius said:

My hope for the crowning achievement of a Trump presidency is that he disbands NATO.

My hope is that if that happens, and international cooperation evaporates, along with intel sharing, only trumpers get eradicated by terrorists or putin-style aggression.

 

That would MWGA   Make the World Great Again!

[retarius]

1 hour ago, scottiejohn said:

And let/invite Putin to take over Europe?

Putin has no plans to invade Europe, you dope. You are parroting the scaremongering which justifies the warmongering. It's all nonsense. 

[retarius]

53 minutes ago, candide said:

Your post is a good example of how Russia's propaganda is efficient!

As yours is a testament to NATO's propaganda. Get real, read a bit. Even just ask yourself a single question? Ask yourself why the US is behind every conflict in the world? 

[retarius]

49 minutes ago, scottiejohn said:

Typical MAGA, so called intellect, on full display in all it's inglorious lack of thought or detail!

They just regurgitate the rhetoric but not the logic of any subsequent outcome they follow/propose!

Refer to myn comment to candide....NATO propaganda is strong in you isn't it?

[scottiejohn]

Just now, retarius said:

Putin has no plans to invade Europe, you dope. You are parroting the scaremongering which justifies the warmongering. It's all nonsense. 

Where is Ukraine and the Crimea?  I think you will find them in Europe!

Why does he claim that Ukraine wanting to join NATO was a MAJOR reason for his invasion?

 

[scottiejohn]

Just now, retarius said:

why the US is behind every conflict in the world? 

How is the US or any other country other than Russia behind Russia's current invasion of Ukraine?

[scottiejohn]

1 minute ago, retarius said:

NATO propaganda is strong in you isn't it?

Obviously Pravda's propaganda and brainwashing is stronger in you!

[Walker88]

The trump cult members have absolutely no clue nor ability to understand the negative international ramifications of a trump 2.0. Intel cooperation, international security, etc., go by the wayside because the rest of the civilized world knows trump is a clown and a fool, and has zero understanding of the world. Other nations will cease cooperating with the US.

 

trump cultists, losers that they are, just live vicariously through the bloated a$$ dictator wannabe, thinking it makes up for all their lifelong pain being mediocre and unsuccessful. They only see their own loser pain, and cannot understand the mayhem trump's abject idiocy will cause.

 

The think tank run by Ian Bremmer puts the greatest threat to world security and the international economy as trump 2.0. It is likely foreign direct investment in the US will cease, and even US companies will consider moving their operations to Mexico and Canada, as those governments would be more stable and run by less capricious fools like trump. Also, as 30% of the US deficit is funded by foreigners, and trump has a tendency toward fiscal profligacy (he ran up a 41% increase on total US debt built up since the 18th Century...trump's deficit in just 4 years was $7,800,000,000,000, or the equivalent of $24,000 for every man, woman and child in the US, or $1000 for every human on Earth...INFLATIONARY !) rates will likely soar. We could see 10% interest rates again.

 

Perhaps it's fitting that rank and file labor, which are trump's bread and butter and KFC buckets, will suffer as jobs are sent to Mexico and Canada. Also, trump claims he's going to get rid of Obamacare, which is his base's healthcare, and which added 20 million new members just in 2023.

Edited January 18 by Walker88

[scottiejohn]

7 minutes ago, retarius said:

Putin has no plans to invade Europe, you dope.

How do you know?  Have you spoken to him?

 

[scottiejohn]

17 minutes ago, Walker88 said:

only trumpers get eradicated by terrorists or putin-style aggression.

If only they could be isolated from the rest of the free thinking world for such a great thing to happen!