In two years as president, President Donald Trump hasn’t hesitated to speak out when he thinks he’s getting a bad deal. NATO has been a frequent target of those attacks, which often revolve around Trump’s belief that alliance members’ lack of defence spending comes at US expense. It’s not new for a US president to push NATO members to spend more on defence, but the harshness and frequency of Trump’s attacks are without precedent for a US president. These attacks were, in part, what led Defence Secretary Jim Mattis to resign in protest, saying that the president was undermining alliances that were crucial to US power. “My views on treating allies with respect and also being clear-eyed about both malign actors and strategic competitors are strongly held,” Mattis wrote in the stinging rebuke delivered Thursday. Here how Trump took aim at the US’s transatlantic partners in 2018. “All this bluster and blasting.” US-NATO ties … [Read more...] about Here’s how Donald Trump took shots at NATO in 2018 — and it spurred Jim Mattis to quit in protest
Nato
NATO aware of reports of US troop cuts in Afghanistan
Lorne Cook Associated Press Published 7:21 AM EST Dec 21, 2018 Brussels – The NATO military alliance said Friday that it has seen media reports that the United States could be readying to pull thousands of troops out of Afghanistan, and it paid tribute to Defense Secretary Jim Mattis after he resigned. The Associated Press and others reported Thursday that U.S. officials said that the Pentagon is developing plans to possibly withdraw up to 7,000 troops serving in the conflict-torn country, marking a sharp change with a policy that had aimed to force the Taliban to the peace table after more than 17 years of war. Almost 17,000 troops from 39 nations take part in NATO’s Resolute Support mission helping to train and mentor Afghan security forces, often in a dangerous combat environment. About half of those troops are American. The U.S. is by far the biggest and most influential member of NATO. A separate U.S. force also conducts strikes on the Islamic State group and … [Read more...] about NATO aware of reports of US troop cuts in Afghanistan
NATO aware of reports about US troop cuts in Afghanistan
Lorne Cook, Associated Press Updated 6:01 am CST, Friday, December 21, 2018 FILE -In this Sept. 21, 2018, file photo, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis speaks during the 2018 POW/MIA National Recognition Day Ceremony at the Pentagon in Washington. President Donald Trump says Mattis will be retiring at the end of February 2019 and that a new secretary will be named shortly. less FILE -In this Sept. 21, 2018, file photo, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis speaks during the 2018 POW/MIA National Recognition Day Ceremony at the Pentagon in Washington. President Donald Trump says Mattis will be ... more Photo: Susan Walsh, AP Photo: Susan Walsh, AP Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Image 1 of 1 FILE -In this Sept. 21, 2018, file photo, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis speaks during the 2018 POW/MIA … [Read more...] about NATO aware of reports about US troop cuts in Afghanistan
NATO hails Mattis’s contribution, U.S. commitment to NATO
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - NATO hailed on Friday the contribution of U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis to keeping the military alliance strong and said it was ready to work closely with his successor, underlining the importance of U.S.Mattis said he was quitting on Thursday after falling out with President Donald Trump over the latter's foreign policies, including surprise decisions to yank troops from Syria and start planning a drawdown in Afghanistan.gi Mattis announced plans to depart in a candid resignation letter to Trump that laid bare the growing divide between them, and implicitly criticized Trump for failing to value America's closest allies, who fought alongside the United States in both conflicts."Secretary Mattis has made a key contribution to keeping NATO strong and ready to deal with the significant security challenges we face, while ensuring a fairer share of the burden across our alliance," NATO spokesperson Oana Lungescu said."He is widely respected as a soldier and a … [Read more...] about NATO hails Mattis’s contribution, U.S. commitment to NATO
U.S. backs NATO membership for Bosnia, dismisses Serb opposition
By Daria Sito-SucicSARAJEVO (Reuters) - The United States supports Bosnia's ambition to join NATO, a senior U.S. official said on Monday, dismissing Bosnian Serb objections and adding Washington would react strongly to any threat to the stability of the country.gi Bosnia has long proclaimed integration with NATO and the European Union to be strategic goals. But the pro-Russian leader of Bosnia's autonomous Serb region, Milorad Dodik, has called for the country to remain neutral and stay out of the U.S.-led military alliance."We discussed the U.S. position which is as firm as it has ever been, supporting the decision that has been made by this government to pursue membership in NATO," U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan said after meeting Bosnia's three-man inter-ethnic presidency.NATO bombed dominant separatist Serb forces in Bosnia in 1995 to help bring an end to the war there, and the United States brokered the Dayton peace deal that followed. This month NATO invited Bosnia … [Read more...] about U.S. backs NATO membership for Bosnia, dismisses Serb opposition