Posted on 08/05/2022 8:43:27 AM PDT by qaz123
Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) is bucking critics and calling for Europe’s NATO members scale back reliance on America — including by increasing their defense spending and growing their militaries — following his lone vote Wednesday opposing growing the alliance to include Finland and Sweden.
Hawley, in an interview with Breitbart News, said America’s current NATO arrangement is spreading resources too thin and in a region that is not of primary national security concern — calling the European theatre a “big distraction from what our principle overseas challenge is, which is China.”
(Excerpt) Read more at breitbart.com ...
That being said, was he this vocal about NATO when President Donald J Trump was saying the same exact thing? I don't follow Hawley or any of them.
Was he one of the few, the ones labeled 'the fringe of the GOP', supporting Pres Trump during those 4 years or was he just one of McConnell's minions that only spoke when he knew it wouldn't rock the apple cart?
We should be out of NATO, once and for all. It was designed to protect Europe, a continent devastated from 2 world wars, from the Soviets. Those days are over. The Europeans have elected people that have made them subservient to the tyrants in the EU cartel. Let them deal with it. If a country, ie Hungary or Poland, wants to form something, just like the Presidents trade deals, they're done 1 on 1. And I cannot imagine any service member not wanting to do a rotation in Hungary or Poland.
I wouldn't go so far as to pull out of the UN. But, if I were POTUS, Day 1....EVICTING THE UN FROM NYC-give them 6 months to move, stepping down from the Security Council, stating that US will only commit the SAME amount of personnel and equipment as any other country if any kind of UN mission arises-and it will NEVER involve combat troops, nothing but medical and logistics personnel.
All those countries hate us for being America, but come crying to us when they need us. No more.
I blame Woodrow Wilson. Truly one of the most reprehensible people in American history.
My new hero. Remember when MAGA attitudes like this used be cool? Rand Paul weaseled out of taking a stand.
“I blame Woodrow Wilson. Truly one of the most reprehensible people in American history.”
I agree X3. His presidency was a tragedy for the US as a constitutional republic; and the insufferable FDR took the baton from Wilson and went him 10X better.
Democrats. Is there anything they CAN’T !@#$ up?
Hawley’s right and the trend since the fall of the USSR is with him. However, I don’t like the timing. Adding Scandanavia to NATO is giving Putin the finger for his aggression, which he sorely needs.
Hawley is correct.
It is time for the EU to pay their own way, fight their own battles, invest in freedom.
In any year a NATO country does not meet it’s defense budget as delineated in the NATO agreement, they are suspended from benefits that year.
Hawley might be right.
But President Trump wanted the whole house of cards taken down and redone. Something far more beneficial to the world than 2 countries joining NATO, IMHO.
I think most folks would be surprised to learn that other countries don’t have a military anywhere near the size and as advanced as the USA.
Hell, at one point, NYPD could have been considered one of the largest armies on the planet when it had 41,000 members.
In a country of 67+ million people, the UK military(total) is 231,000.
Finland’s numbers....23,000 active 900k in reserve-they have mandatory military service, so that explains that number.
Hawley is correct......So was President Trump and he caught hell for it. Again, I don’t remember Hawley, or any one else, backing him up on this very same thing.
NATO is a useless, redundant organization.
We should have nothing to do with it.
Hawley is VERY SMART. Once Russia completes their ‘project’ in Ukraine (and they will, as even the US is all but admitting it now) - a lot of conservatives will be asking why we even got involved.
Hawley is now WAY AHEAD of them.
NATO has evolved as a way for European nations to foist their independent defense expenditures onto the backs of the American taxpayer. This allows these same European nations to deploy generous public spending that makes US leftists drool. As long as other NATO members reject their stipulated ongoing contributions and fail to bring their arrears to current, the US should diminish NATO spending by the TOTAL owed by other members.
Hawley is up in ‘24 and he’s out for himself. He’d rather be POTUS. Will he ‘quit’ on us rather than keep a senate seat? 12 years for a guy like him might be too impatient a move.
Even a SCOTUS appointment wouldn’t work. Too out of the limelight. A rock thrower in the senate is best for us.
The NATO burden sharing topic has been around for a long time, going back at least to the early 70’s. Nothing ever becomes of it save for Trump’s brief (and temporary) successes.
Certain elements of government and the defense sector are not interested in reducing our NATO involvement.
A rock thrower in the senate is best for us.
*************
I would prefer that we have an avalanche or mud slide creator that brings all the rocks down.
I blame Woodrow Wilson. Truly one of the most reprehensible people in American history.
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Biden is fighting hard to earn that distinction.
I agree with Howley 100%!!!!
Get out of NATO, period! And the UN!!!
How does admitting two more countries to NATO - both of which punch above their weight militarily - increase the U.S. defense burden in Europe? If you believe that Europe should take a greater role in defending itself, then the additions of Sweden and Finland are exactly the kind of actions you should support.
The US Senate has totally disgraced itself and proven they are NATO First/Europe First.
Republican Senators Beware: Your voters are AMERICA FIRST!!!
Eventually this vote will get them unelected.
I don’t think you ever really cease to amaze anyone on this site with your nonsense. Anyway...
Without the United States of America there is no NATO. At the end of the day, the only things that kept the Soviets at bay, regardless of the impotent NATO, was the fact that the United States did have very large military bases in Europe. Massive armor, infantry and aviation assets to repel anything the Russians through at Europe. For decades, leading up to the GWOT, the military training doctrine was still based on fighting the Soviets in the forests and mountains of Europe.
The Soviet Union is gone and has been for a while. With it, should have gone NATO and the ability of all those European countries, whose leadership hates the US but loves the US dollar, to squander their money on lavish social spending and not being able to defend themselves.
As for two more countries, that just two more countries that are in the alliance that the US will be obligated to help. Sh*t has to end at some point.
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