Germany’s Merz calls for ‘independence’ from US after election win

[PuiPuiHarry]

3 hours ago, HK MacPhooey said:

Add to that their unrelenting arrogance that the EUSSR could provoke Putin by expanding all the way to the Russian border and not expecting him to push back especially the regions that are considered to be predominantly Russian by heritage.

Brief comparison: Warsaw Pact and Soviet Union would have been promised, that NATO would not absorb members east of the BRD.
Meanwhile, GDR (14 mln inw), Poland ( 40 mln inw), Czechia (10.5 mln inw), Slovakia (5.4) , Hungary (10.2) , Romania (19.6) and Bulgaria (6.7) are members, as are Estonia (1.3) , Latvia (1.8) and Lithuania (2.7). Ukraine (38), Moldova (3) and Georgia (3.7) would also very much like to join, and looking at the protests against electoral fraud by Lukashenko et al in Belarus (9.5), presumably that country too. For Azerbaijan (12.3), Kazakhstan (19.5), Uzbekistan (36), Tajikistan (10.2), Turkmenistan (6.6) and Kyrgyzstan (6.9), it's a far cry from my bed show, but are glad, that after more than 2 centuries, the Muscovite oppressions are finally gone. Armenia (3.0) has beenTrumped by Putin. Just because the old in fact colonial oppressor, Russia, with 140 mln inhabitants feels cheated, should all these other countries just comply ?

[frank83628]

2 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

It seems like people are finally starting to rise up against the absolute nonsense and insanity of this new Trump regime. They are just saying no to the "wannabe king" and exercising a bit of common sense in regard to geopolitics. 

 

Hopefully this trend will continue and it will soon include a significant percentage of the people who voted for Trump. They are now just beginning to realize just who they voted for, and what he is and wants to be. 

 

 

 

 

you gotta stop projecting your thoughts and feelings as though its how his voters think, trump has been In office 1 month, those that voted for him are getting exactly what they voted for, its you, the woke left, Democrats and anti trumpets that don't like it, you do not speak for trump supporters, whether voters or non voters.

Change the record.

[Eric Loh]

The world has taken notice that Trump's USA has join the axis of evil. TRump has upended the transatlantic alliance and disavowed the age-old commitment to defend fellow NATO members and also countries in the asia-pacific rim. Trump is creating chaos at home and abroad. A very regretful period of America history. 

[Chomper Higgot]

1 hour ago, frank83628 said:

 NATO had no purpose since 92, then the us used article 5 to drag everyone into their illegal war with Iraq after 9/11.

Article 5 was not involved for the war in Iraq, NATO did not engage in military action in Iraq.

 

Please revisit the facts of history.

 

[cdnvic]

A reminder that the report button is for reporting serious rule violations, not for registering disagreement.

[frank83628]

18 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

Article 5 was not involved for the war in Iraq, NATO did not engage in military action in Iraq.

 

Please revisit the facts of history.

 

Ah, ok, was just imaginary, no war happened at all.

The main

37 minutes ago, Eric Loh said:

The world has taken notice that Trump's USA has join the axis of evil. TRump has upended the transatlantic alliance and disavowed the age-old commitment to defend fellow NATO members and also countries in the asia-pacific rim. Trump is creating chaos at home and abroad. A very regretful period of America history. 

Yeah, he is making changes, just likenhe saidnhe would, don't like it then blame your own side for not getting out and voting more. You will be moaning daily for the next 4 years, I I were you I'd log off, gon and spend time enjoying your twilight years

[newbee2022]

5 hours ago, HK MacPhooey said:

There really are some clueless individuals on this forum

Why you call yourself "clueless"? Learn from the others ❗

[Chomper Higgot]

24 minutes ago, frank83628 said:

Ah, ok, was just imaginary, no war happened at all.

The main

Yeah, he is making changes, just likenhe saidnhe would, don't like it then blame your own side for not getting out and voting more. You will be moaning daily for the next 4 years, I I were you I'd log off, gon and spend time enjoying your twilight years

Frank, there was an Iraq war.

 

NATO took no part in any military action in the Iraq war, the U.S. did not drag NATO into the Iraq war.

 

 

 

[thaibreaker]

7 hours ago, frank83628 said:

 NATO had no purpose since 92, then the us used article 5 to drag everyone into their illegal war with Iraq after 9/11.

You are confusing Iraq with Afghanistan. The US claimed article 5 against Afghanistan after 9/11 in 2001, and NATO countries responded to that, and did contribute for almost 20 years, losing around 1000 European lives, and around 2500 US lives.

[Patong2021]

11 hours ago, impulse said:

 

If you agreed to spend 2%, and over 10 years later you only spend 1.5%, what do you call it?

 

Some countries  achieve their spend value through accounting  manipulation.

- The US  includes its Coast Guard in its military budget.  Canada does not.

- The US  spends an estimated 2%+ on redundant military bases in the USA.  Anytime the US military has recommended closing the base,  congress has refused because of their economic importance. The bases are in effect economic investments in communities.

- The US military includes comprehensive and generous health insurance for personnel and their families in its military budget. Other countries do not include the full cost because some of it is already covered by the national health plan.

- The US military  maintains an extensive fleet of private use aircraft , naval vessels and automobiles.

Marine One costs between $16,700 and almost $20,000 per hour to operate, according to Pentagon data for the 2022 budget year. Air Force One is even more expensive: roughly $200,000 per hour.  But those figures only scratch the surface of the real cost. There also are military cargo planes that travel ahead of the president to make sure his armoured limousines are in place, not to mention the enormous security apparatus that follows the president everywhere.    Consider that Trump goes to Palm Beach almost every weekend  and the cost of  trump's travel, and his wife and families, and the  VP's travel and their related friends and families all gets included in the military budget.

- The US military  and some other countries operate multiple social facilities and that is all included in the military budget.

- The US  includes  industrial financing in its  military budget. Other countries  fund through their  civilian industrial  and economic development budgets.

- The US is a major provider of housing  and subsidized commissary benefits to the families of military personnel. Other countries  do similar, but in some countries the funding is provided by civilian departments.

- Some countries  deploy their military for civil functions. In the USA the army corps of engineers  is contracting out the  LA fire cleanup.  In other countries, civilian agencies do this.

 

Military spending is not always what it appears to be and some countries who are accused of paying little,  are  spending but classifying the expense differently.