Posted on 03/10/2019 7:12:48 PM PDT by Steve Schulin
[photo caption] M1A2 Abrams tanks and Bradley Fighting Vehicles converge on a smoke signal during a live-fire exercise at Grafenwoehr, Germany, in March. President Trump is pushing a plan that demands allies pick up the full cost of hosting U.S. troops in their countries, plus a 50 percent premium for American protection, according to a news report. [photo credit; MARTIN EGNASH/STARS AND STRIPES]
STUTTGART, Germany — President Donald Trump is pushing a plan that demands allies pick up the full cost of hosting U.S. troops in their countries, plus a 50 percent premium for the privilege of American protection, according to a news report.
Called “Cost Plus 50,” the plan would cost five or six times more for countries like Germany, Japan and South Korea, Bloomberg news reported Friday.
Trump has been championing the idea for months, Bloomberg reported, citing about a dozen unnamed administration officials. Trump even tested the idea during recent negotiations over a cost sharing agreement with South Korea, which was on the brink of collapse before a deal was finally reached in February.
“We want cost plus 50,” Trump demanded at one point during the talks, as quoted by the media organization.
While the U.S. eventually backed off the demand, the idea hasn’t gone away and could be used to pressure allies to increase their own defense budgets. For two years, Trump has railed against allies, especially in Europe, who Trump has described as security free riders unwilling to pay for their own defense.
[photo caption] A C-17 Globemaster III takes off from Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany. President Trump is pushing a plan that would demand allies like Germany and Japan pick up the full cost of hosting U.S. troops in their countries, plus a 50 percent premium for American protection, according to a news report. [photo credit: MICHAEL ABRAMS/STARS AND STRIPES]
It isn’t clear how close the Cost Plus 50 idea is to becoming official U.S. policy. Bloomberg reported that Trump’s advisers have pushed back against the idea. But the president’s interest in the proposal has nonetheless sent “shock waves through the departments of Defense and State,” it reported.
The plan would likely face fierce resistance from U.S. allies, especially Germany, which hosts about 32,000 American troops. Unlike South Korea, which relies on a large military presence as a line of protection against the north, the American forces in Germany don’t serve as territorial guardians.
While there were some 300,000 troops in Europe during the Cold War, there are about 70,000 in total on the Continent today. The contingent in Germany consists mostly of enabling forces and headquarters. The Army has just one infantry brigade in the country.
While allies like Japan see the U.S. military presence as a bulwark to an expansionist China, Germany generally doesn’t see an immediate threat to its own security. As such, Berlin is likely to balk at demands to pay all the costs for U.S. bases, which are widely viewed domestically as serving Washington’s foreign policy interests. For example, Ramstein Air Base — the largest in Germany — has been used as a vital staging post for the U.S. military interventions in Iraq and Libya, which Berlin either opposed or did not participate in.
And Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, the largest overseas military hospital in the world, is a stopping point for troops injured in Afghanistan and other missions abroad. It offers no direct benefit to Germany’s security. Similarly, Marines crisis response forces in Spain and Italy are tasked with protecting U.S. interests and diplomatic compounds in Africa on short notice rather than Europe’s territorial defense. It’s unclear whether Italy or Spain would feel obliged to pony up more for their presence.
Still, with a more assertive Russia, allies in Europe have been eager for more U.S. forces, especially along NATO’s eastern flank, which could give the Trump administration leverage. Poland has offered $2 billion to establish a permanent U.S. base in its country.
Germany spends about $1 billion or roughly 20 percent of the cost of hosting U.S. troops at various installations in the country, according to Rand Corporation data. But Germany’s payments for U.S. troops are almost entirely in kind — the provision of services or facilities.
Bloomberg reported the White House was also considering a measure to ease the financial burden — a discount for countries whose policies were in line with Washington’s.
That could be problematic for Germany, which has resisted demands from Trump to ramp up defense expenditures. By 2024, all NATO allies are expected to dedicate 2 percent of GDP to military matters. While the majority of alliance members are on track to reach the spending target, Berlin has balked at the idea and is expected to fall well short of the benchmark.
Maybe he is setting prices so it becomes cheaper for them to raise their own Army to the task, rather than renting American mercenaries for a relative song.
Two generations of my family fought for Europe’s freedom in two world wars. And for what?
As lefties naturally complained about this. Why, no idea besides “Orange Man Bad!”
Hey Bernie, AOC, media and others, when you call Trump a Nazi, you are referring to your own ideology. NAZI english translation: National Socialist German Workers' Party.
You socialists are too stupid or lazy to even look up the translation. Hitler was a socialist...so are you pricks. I don't mean your as bad as that genocidal monster, but you folks adhere to the same ideology which always leads to totalitarian rule. Maduro's Venezuela is looking for you dipshits to further his National Socialism. What's stopping you? You people are the frigging Nazi's.
Agree with you and The president.
TIMES UP ! !
I think he knows they won’t pay 150% of the cost and is simply signalling that he’s willing to settle for payment of all or most of the cost with no premium. In other words,he is negotiating.
You are half right about the renting of American mercenaries. The problem is, to quote the guy from the Rock, “Mercenaries get paid.” We don’t.
The British had it right in the 18th and 19th centuries, when they employed the “Golden Cavalry of St. George”: they would use their navy to control the sea, but use their wealth from their empire to pay powers like Austria, Prussia, or Russia to do the bulk of the land fighting against France and its allies. We do some of the same these days, but not when it comes to Europe. Now, the Prussians use us to protect them from the Russians, and we bear most of the cost for doing so.
I totally agree!
How many troops do we have in Mexico ?
We’re going to occupy Mexico sooner or later.
I am afraid it is the other way around, when the invading population blooms we will be overrun and forced out by AOC types
We rebuilt Germany to keep all of western Europe out of communist hands back in the 40s and 50s. And every since, WE have provided their security. Every soldier put their lives on the line to protect Germany. Germany had a very very small military force. Practically no navy and out dated air craft to protect their skies. Our AF did that. Hundreds of thousands of us stood on the east west german border daily watching for the east germans and Russians to come across the Fulda Gap and invade. Only our nukes kept them from doing that. We rebuilt and protected Japan also from the Russians. Today we use their countries to protect them, and us. Gives us forward bases. I agree than now, in these better days, that if we are going to protect them, they should pay for it. We are basically the world’s police force. Everyone WANTS us to protect them while they bad mouth us all the day long. Every time they bad mouth us, we should just say fine, we are going home. They would shut their fat mouths then or we really should leave and let them fret for their selves. The new Germany got to be what it is today with US tax payer dollars and military people watching their butts. I spent 10 of my 20 years in the Army in Germany, one tour on the east west border, watching out for the Russians. The longer I was their the more I saw the loud mouthed Germans yack about Americans and how much they hated us. I wished back in the 1980s that we would just pack up and let the damned Germans fret for their selves against the Russians. Today, I think that even greater than back then. Let their so called European Army defend that bunch of cry baby loud mouth muzzie loving liberals fret for their own lands. To hell with them. Pay up or we are going home. Mzzzz. Murkle, meet Vlad Putin, your new leader.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.