Trump und die NATO: Besser wird’s nicht

Das Treffen der NATO-Staats- und Regierungschefs verfolge ich aus der Ferne, aber auch so fällt schnell auf: Was US-Präsident Donald Trump am (heutigen) Donnerstag bei seiner ersten offiziellen Rede bei der Allianz in Brüssel sagte, wird den Verbündeten nicht wirklich gefallen. Der Präsident hob erneut auf die aus US-Sicht mangelnden Beiträge der anderen Mitgliedsländer zu den Verteidigungsausgaben ab, sprach erneut davon, dass sie Geld schuldeten (wem auch immer) – und sagte in seiner Rede nichts über das (erwartete) Bekenntnis der USA zur kollektiven Verteidigung.

Zur Dokumentation die Passagen dazu aus dem vom Weißen Haus veröffentlichten Redetext:

The NATO of the future must include a great focus on terrorism and immigration, as well as threats from Russia and on NATO’s eastern and southern borders. These grave security concerns are the same reason that I have been very, very direct with Secretary Stoltenberg and members of the Alliance in saying that NATO members must finally contribute their fair share and meet their financial obligations, for 23 of the 28 member nations are still not paying what they should be paying and what they’re supposed to be paying for their defense.

This is not fair to the people and taxpayers of the United States. And many of these nations owe massive amounts of money from past years and not paying in those past years. Over the last eight years, the United States spent more on defense than all other NATO countries combined. If all NATO members had spent just 2 percent of their GDP on defense last year, we would have had another $119 billion for our collective defense and for the financing of additional NATO reserves.
We should recognize that with these chronic underpayments and growing threats, even 2 percent of GDP is insufficient to close the gaps in modernizing, readiness, and the size of forces. We have to make up for the many years lost. Two percent is the bare minimum for confronting today’s very real and very vicious threats. If NATO countries made their full and complete contributions, then NATO would be even stronger than it is today, especially from the threat of terrorism.

Und die ganze Rede zum Nachhören:

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Zur Ergänzung: Das Statement von NATO-Generalsekretär Jens Stoltenberg nach dem Arbeitsessen der Staats- und Regierungschefs zum Nachlesen hier.

(Foto: NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg welcomes US President Donald Trump at the new NATO Headquarters – NATO photo))