INTERVIEW – STEVE BUCCI – former Army Special Forces officer and top Pentagon official, is a visiting research fellow at The Heritage Foundation @SBucci
- TRUMP FLIES TO BRUSSELS THIS MORNING…
- Trump ‘making an impact’ on NATO as allies ramp up defense spending: Ambassador Kay Bailey Hutchison (Fox News) — President Trump has already made a major, unprecedented impact in getting NATO allies to spend more on their own defense, U.S. NATO Ambassador Kay Bailey Hutchison told “Fox News Sunday.””I’ve worked for three presidents, all of whom have said the same thing,” Hutchison said. “Now, I think for the first time, we are really seeing the Europeans start going in the same direction. Every ally is now increasing defense spending — we’ve had the largest increase in defense spending snce the Cold War.” Trump departs Tuesday on a four-nation tour amid simmering disputes over trade and military spending with fellow Western democracies and speculation about whether he will rebuke or embrace Russian President Vladimir Putin. Trump meets the Russian leader in Helsinki as the finale of a trip with earlier stops in Belgium, England and Scotland. After meeting in Brussels with NATO leaders, who he has long pressured to spend more on their own defense, he’ll travel to the United Kingdom.
- President Trump blasts NATO allies ahead of trip, says contribution on defense not acceptable. WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Monday rebuked European allies on the eve of a NATO summit, complaining that the United States spends more on collective defense than its 28 North Atlantic partners.”The United States is spending far more on NATO than any other Country. This is not fair, nor is it acceptable,” Trump tweeted a day before departing on a seven-day European trip to Belgium, the United Kingdom and Finland. “While these countries have been increasing their contributions since I took office, they must do much more.” Trump singled out Germany, which spent an estimated 1.24 percent of its 2017 economic output on defense, according to the latest figures from NATO. Comparably, the United States spent an estimated 3.57 percent. And he connected the issue to his protectionist trade policies, noting that the European Union has a trade surplus with the United States.
