Posted on 11/07/2019 8:53:38 AM PST by yesthatjallen
French President Emmanuel Macron warned in a new interview that NATO is undergoing "brain death" due to a lack of commitment from its primary benefactor, the United States.
In an interview published Thursday with The Economist, Macron warned that the Trump administration's decision to conduct unilateral military actions such as the withdrawal of troops from Syria indicated that nations in the alliance were less committed to upholding longstanding mutual defense agreements.
"What we are currently experiencing is the brain death of NATO," Macron said.
"I don't know [whether Article Five remains in effect]," Macron said, referring to the collective defense agreement. "But what will Article Five mean tomorrow?
NATO "only works if the guarantor of last resort functions as such," the French leader continued. "I'd argue that we should reassess the reality of what NATO is in the light of the commitment of the United States."
Macron's remarks are some of the harshest public criticism President Trump has faced from world leaders over his decision to remove U.S. forces from northern Syria ahead of a Turkish invasion of the region last month.
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(Excerpt) Read more at thehill.com ...
They can’t pay anything. They have been operating a tourist economy for 50 years, then they let in a bunch of savages that turned Paris into a Bangladeshi Landfill.
macroni is nudging his way into interfering with the '20 election.
Russia IS NOT a benign entity.
Europe wants to completely get out of the self-defense business.
Hey, there’s no longer a threat.
What in the Sam Hell are they thinking?
These people won’t be satisfied until they give back all the Iron Curtain nations.
I’d like to think Europe was worth fighting for.
More and more, they are proving it isn’t.
Those aren't Russians.
who is paying to support those people? where do they eat? go to the bathroom?
I remember a story where the Mexican caravans would get off of a bus, form a line, take a picture, then get back on a bus.
who is paying for this?
whose land are they parading over?
NATO has no authority over our deployed troops. We shouldnt be bringing in other countries to leak to the world (or Turkey).
Uncle Sam is paying 4% of Nato, most members like Germany
won’t pay more than one quarter what USA pays.
Some Nato member are non payers.
Its a pity we have so many bases in Europe after WWII ended
more,than 75 years ago.
We should close the dozens of American bases and bring our
forces back home to sit on the Mexican border.
70,000 Americans died last year from drugs brought into
America thru Mexico.
Get our troops to build the border wall.
The savings from closing bases and spending the money
here in America instead could fund the wall.
“nations in the alliance were less committed to upholding longstanding mutual defense agreements”
NATO is mainly for your protection, Frenchies. If you want to stare down Russia without us, good luck.
hey, if the EU loves NATO so much, they could always meet their full NATO financial obligations instead of just leeching off of us, right?
He is a weak silly man
I'm still trying to figure out when any part of Yugoslavia attacked a NATO country.
How much do you think another world war would cost us?
Germany can’t behave itself. That’s why we’re there.
Even now in the E. U., Germany is the E. U.
Russia is a threat. After the Ukraine that should be obvious. Poland, very friendly and supportive of us, would be exposed. Others would be too.
Our troops will be on active duty somewhere. Germany and other places are as good as any place to have them.
We have the means of closing our border down tight. We just haven’t bothered. Trump is doing what he can now.
I don’t like what is going on down in Mexico either.
You are correct our border is a mess and it is costing American lives. Heck, we can’t even get sheriff’s to hold illegal alien rapists or child molesters on a retainer when they are ready to be released, so they can be deported.
We have sanctuary cities. Churches run an effective underground railroad for them.
Troops in Germany is not the issue. > IMO
Nato is nothing but an employment program for bureaucrats. The combat power outside the US contribution is a joke, and the “threat” is non-existant. The Russian Army is about 10% of what it was in 1989, and is not poised 10 minutes form the border any longer.
Nato needs to end.
To your points, The Russian Army is only about 10% of it’s cold war late 80s strength. There is no threat to Europe. As far as Ukraine, there was no Russian aggression there as is popularly cast. When the violent coup was launched in Kiev, everybody else in the country had the same right to grab what they did.
The eastern part of the country didn’t like the eastern nazi azov and svoboda crews trying to gain control of their areas. And that coincided with Russia deciding to draw the line at Nato advancing completely up to their border.
They sure as hell weren’t gonna let NATO take over the base at Sevastopol that they have had since the era of Thomas Jefferson. So with the interests of eastern Ukraine and them coinciding, they pouring in a lotta help.
But the Ukraine lobby runs DC. And a lotta people who had an important job with the US military in Europe in the 70s and 80s will see the world that way forever. Like Fred Mertz always coming in singing “Over There” and imagining WWI is on again.
Nato is a job program, the defense industry, DOD and State dept love it. The Euros love it. It carries forward on inertia alone. SO that’s why the Russian “threat” is so exaggerated. Without that, Nato loses it’s reason to exist.
Will the last Euro Trash country paying dues to NATO, please turn out the lights when you leave and close the doors.
If Syria is so important, feel free to send your troops Macron.
The Economist used to be good. I used to read it every week cover to cover back in the 90s. Some time around 03-04 it changed. It was very noticeable. Now its just another Yurp rag. Sad considering how it used to be.
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