NATO Summit - London, News and Commentary, December 3th and 4th 2019

[Elderberry]

Radio Free Europe 11/28/2019

Macron says Russia, China not NATO allies’ common enemies — terrorism is

French President Emmanuel Macron has said that he stands by comments he made three weeks ago when he described NATO as "brain-dead," and he defended his push for dialogue with Russia.

In a November 7 interview with the Economist magazine, Macron deplored a lack of strategic cooperation among NATO members, and pointed to what he saw as a waning commitment to the Western military alliance by the United States.

The assessment drew sharp criticism from allies, with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg warning against undermining the transatlantic alliance.

"I totally stand by raising these ambiguities because I believe it was irresponsible of us to keep talking about financial and technical matters given the stakes we currently face," Macron said after talks with Stoltenberg in Paris on November 28.

More: https://www.rferl.org/a/macron-says-russia-china-not-nato-allies-common-enemies---terrorism-is/30297520.html

[mystery-ak]

In marathon NATO photo op, Trump trashes Germany, bashes France, blames Obama, praises Turkey
by Jamie McIntyre
 | December 03, 2019 07:05 AM

TRUMP IS IN THE HOUSE: The NATO summit in London has not yet formally begun, and President Trump has already put his stamp on the leader’s meeting, turning what was billed as “short statements,” by the U.S. president and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg into a freewheeling 52 minute news conference in which he took questions on dozens of topics. Where to begin?

‘NATO HAS NOT TREATED US FAIRLY’ As expected, Trump arrived in London repeating his standard talking point that NATO countries aren’t paying enough while the U.S. is paying too much to support the alliance.

Trump continues to treat the money that NATO members spend on their own defense as dues that are owed to the alliance, and falsely implies that that causes the U.S to spend more than its fair share. The U.S. $730 billion defense budget, which is greater than all the other NATO nations combined, is not affected by the amount other countries spend.

more
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/defense-national-security/in-marathon-nato-photo-op-trump-trashes-germany-bashes-france-blames-obama-praises-turkey

[TomSea]

Nato summit: Trump blasts Macron 'brain dead' comments as 'nasty'

US President Donald Trump has accused his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron of being "nasty" for saying Nato was "brain dead".

Mr Trump is in London for a summit marking the Western military alliance's 70th anniversary.

The US president said Nato served a great purpose, and Mr Macron's remarks had been "very insulting".

Read more at: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-50641403

[Elderberry]

Radio Free Europe 12/3/2019

NATO leaders are gathering in London for a two-day summit to mark the founding of the 29-member military alliance 70 years ago.

Preparations for the two-day meeting have been overshadowed by a raucous debate over defense spending, policies concerning Syria, and a bitter dispute between France and Turkey.

Despite the current strains, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg insisted that NATO was "the most successful alliance in history," telling CNN ahead of the gathering that the allies "have been able to change again and again when the world is changing."

U.S. President Donald Trump, who has pressed hard for other member states to meet the alliance's spending rules, defended the role of the alliance, saying hours after landing in London that NATO "serves a great purpose."

Trump accused French President Emmanuel Macron of being "nasty" for saying NATO was "brain-dead."

More: https://www.rferl.org/a/nato-to-toast-70th-anniversary-as-alliance-seeks-to-assert-relevance/30304764.html

[TomSea]

This thread may only last 2 days or so but will put all important Summit articles in this comprehensive thread. I hope that is okay!?

[TomSea]

James Carafano: NATO, Macron and Trump – Why this meeting is already different
James Jay Carafano

The leaders of NATO nations wing into London this week. There’s no big to-do list for the meeting, but it’s symbolically quite important.

Alliance leaders are gathering to mark the 70th anniversary of the world’s most successful instrument of collective security. Still, it might not be all happiness and light. Someone may decide to spoil the party, and, no that someone is not likely to be Trump.

Going into the festivities, the smart money said that if anyone would make a scene in London it would be either French President Emmanuel Macron or Turkish President Recep Erdogan. So far the smart money has been right about Macron. We'll see about Erdogan.

Read more at: https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/nato-macron-trump-james-carafano

[TomSea]

NATO leaders meet as divisions threaten military alliance | DW | 04.12.2019
Deutsche Welle (www.dw.com)

Although the summit is meant to mark the military alliance's 70th birthday, tensions among the allies are overshadowing the party. The celebration of unity has been marked by clashes between the US and French presidents.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg welcomed the leaders of the 29-member military alliance in London on Wednesday, as the uneasy allies met to celebrate the organization's 70th anniversary.

Following a tense start to the two-day summit on Tuesday — marked by clashes between US President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron — leaders are due to focus on current and future threats.

https://www.dw.com/en/nato-leaders-meet-as-divisions-threaten-military-alliance/a-51522008

Also, this was posted as an individual thread in the forum. It's a bit noteworthy and I was afraid, it would be missed just in this thread:

'His team's jaws drop': World leaders trash-talk Trump in private conversation
by John Gage  | December 03, 2019 10:13 PM

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau shared some thoughts about President Trump to other world leaders in a video that was taken during a reception in Buckingham Palace.

"He was late because he takes a 40-minute press conference off the top," Trudeau told a small group of world leaders that included French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson in video published on Twitter by Politics & Power. The comment was in reference to Trump kicking off the NATO summit in London with a tense press conference with Macron.

"You just watched his team's jaws drop to the floor," Trudeau added in the video clip. Trump called a Macron comment "nasty" during the press conference. He also went after France for having a "very high unemployment rate."


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Read more at: https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/his-teams-jaws-drop-world-leaders-trash-talk-trump-in-private-conversation

[Gefn]

Trump calls Trudeau ‘two-faced’, cancels press conference and leaves Nato summit early after video of world leaders making fun of him


Donald Trump has reacted furiously to footage of world leaders apparently making fun of him, calling Justin Trudeau “two-faced” then cancelling a press conference and cutting short his attendance at a Nato summit.

The US president was asked whether he had seen the clip in which his international counterparts appeared to joke about his explosive press conference with Emmanuel Macron.

“You just watched his team’s jaws drop to the floor!” Mr Trudeau apparently said of Mr Trump.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-trudeau-nato-summit-press-conference-macron-boris-johnson-latest-a9232496.html

[Elderberry]

Danish Academic: U.N. Might Use Military to Enforce Climate Agenda

https://www.breitbart.com/environment/2019/12/03/danish-academic-u-n-might-use-military-to-enforce-climate-agenda/

Breitbart by Simon Kent 12/3/2019

The United Nations may resort to military action against states that defy its mandates on global climate action, according to Ole Wæver, a prominent international relations professor at the University of Copenhagen.

In an interview with ABC News in Australia, Professor Wæver cautions that what he sees as “climate inaction” might draw the U.N. into considering other means to ensure its goals are met, even if that leads to global armed conflict.

Professor Wæver says more resistance to change could potentially threaten democracy although the U.N. would counter that the end justified the means in much the same way countries like Greece had their debt crisis solutions forced on them by European Union bureaucrats in Brussels and Strasbourg.

“The United Nations Security Council could, in principle, tomorrow decide that climate change is a threat to international peace and security,” he says.

“And then it’s within their competencies to decide ‘and you are doing this, you are doing this, you are doing this, this is how we deal with it’.”

He believes classifying climate change as a security issue could leave the door open to more extreme policy responses. [See the full interview below]

[Gefn]

Breaking NATO summit: Trump cancels news conference to head home

https://news.sky.com/story/nato-summit-trump-cancels-news-conference-to-head-home-11877892

Breaking news story.