It's time to DEFUND NATO!

[Elderberry]

Derrick Evans
@DerrickEvans4WV
·
17h
It's time to DEFUND NATO!
Quote
National File
@NationalFile
·
This guy is a Member of Dutch Parliament.

He's in charge of censorship in the EU.

Now he's head of NATO.

[Hoodat]

At a time when NATO members are doing exactly what Trump asked eight years ago, it would be ludicrous to back out of supporting NATO.  Dutch defense spending per GDP has increased by one-third since 2016.

[jafo2010]

There will be no backing out of NATO.  Get real!  The military industrial complex would have people killed over that decision.

Russia on the rampage, threatening to nuke Great Britain and Ukraine, I don't think so.

[IsailedawayfromFR]

At a time when NATO members are doing exactly what Trump asked eight years ago, it would be ludicrous to back out of supporting NATO.  Dutch defense spending per GDP has increased by one-third since 2016.

Well, not exactly.  We still have to pony up more than our share as 2/3 of NATO countries do not.  NATO members should be nervous as Trump may act like he said he would 5 years ago.  May be why this is happening. 
NATO boss Rutte held talks with Trump in Florida, alliance says Sat, November 23, 2024
https://ca.news.yahoo.com/nato-boss-rutte-held-talks-083805580.html

Only 35% of NATO Countries Meet the Group’s Defense Spending Target
Controversial comments by former President Donald Trump turned attention to the alliance. Here's which member countries are meeting a defense spending benchmark.
By Elliott Davis Jr.
March 7, 2024
President Donald Trump meets with Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte during the NATO summit at The Grove, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2019, in Watford, England.  Former US president Donald Trump says he once warned that he would allow Russia to do whatever it wants to NATO member nations that are “delinquent” in devoting 2% of their gross domestic product to defense. Trump’s comment on Saturday represented the latest instance in which the former president and Republican front-runner seemed to side with an authoritarian state over America’s democratic allies.

Comments by former President Donald Trump about NATO and its member states’ military spending pledges brought new attention to the alliance, which has increasingly found itself in the spotlight since Russia invaded Ukraine.

At a campaign rally in South Carolina in February 2024, Trump recounted a conversation with an unnamed “president of a big country” who allegedly asked him whether the U.S. would protect the leader’s nation if it was attacked by Russia. Trump said he responded that if they “didn’t pay,” then he “would encourage (Russia) to do whatever the hell they want,” according to Reuters.

The former president and Republican front-runner for the 2024 presidential election was talking about the commitment by NATO member countries to spend a minimum of 2% of their gross domestic product on defense, as NATO does not have a standing military force. As of 2023, a majority of NATO countries did not meet this pledge.

Here’s what else you need to know about the military alliance’s funding and which members did – and did not – meet the requirement in 2023. Sweden, which officially joined NATO on March 7, 2024, is not included.
https://www.usnews.com/news/best-countries/articles/2024-02-12/only-35-of-nato-countries-meet-the-groups-defense-spending-target

[PeteS in CA]

Ummmmmmmm ... Rutte was rather active PM of the Netherlands from October 14, 20210 through the end of June 2024. When was he part of the EU government, in any capacity? While his party's name sounds leftist, the VVD is actually relatively conservative.

So, if the claim, "He's in charge of censorship in the EU," came from somewhere odoriferous rather than reality, what's Derrick Evans' beef with Rutte? Throwing out a few extreme possibilities (as extreme as Evans' "in charge of censorship in the EU" claim):

* Is it the Dutch government providing munitions and 18 F-16A fighters to Ukraine?

* Is it Rutte's condemnation of Hamas' 10/7 invasion of Israel? Is it Rutte's condemnation of Iran's missile attack on Israel?

* Or is making up @#$% about the new head of Nato simply a convenient avenue of attacking the existence of NATO?

As for Putin and Russia, Ukraine has bloodied the Russian military badly, both metaphorically and literally. Had Putin succeeded in conquering Ukraine in spring-summer 2022, Moldova or the Balkan states or Poland would have been in imminent danger. Now, if Ukraine were magically overrun or forced to surrender extensive territory, those nations would be in danger, but Russia would have to rebuild quite a bit. IOW, disbanding or crippling NATO would fit Putin's long-term plans pretty nicely.