Free Republic

As US allies reel from Donald Trump’s weekend comments encouraging Russia to attack European allies if they don’t meet NATO budget contribution goals, multiple former Trump advisers warn in my upcoming book that the former president will seek to formally withdraw the US from the NATO alliance if he wins a second term. In “The Return of Great Powers”, which will be published March 12, a former senior US official, who served in both the Trump and Biden administrations at a high level, told me that if Trump defeats President Joe Biden in November “the US will be out of...

CNN anchor Christiane Amanpour said Monday on CNN’s “News Central” that she believed former President Donald Trump’s comments on NATO were “literally insane.” At a rally, Trump said, “One of the presidents of a big country stood up and said, sir, if we don’t pay and we’re attacked by Russia, will you protect us? I said you didn’t pay, you’re delinquent? He said yes. Say that happened, no, I would not protect you. In fact, I would encourage them to do whatever the hell they want. You have to pay. You have to pay your bills.” Amanpour said, “People are...

After Donald J. Trump suggested he had threatened to encourage Russia to attack “delinquent” NATO allies, the response among many Republican officials has struck three themes — expressions of support, gaze aversion or even cheerful indifference. [cut] In a phone interview on Sunday, Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina seemed surprised to even be asked about Mr. Trump’s remark. “Give me a break — I mean, it’s Trump,” Mr. Graham said. “All I can say is while Trump was president nobody invaded anybody. I think the point here is to, in his way, to get people to pay.” [cut] Senator...

Donald Trump's suggestion the US would not protect Nato allies failing to spend enough on defence "undermines all of our security", the Western military alliance's chief has said. Jens Stoltenberg also suggested it put US and European troops at greater risk. The Republican said he had told allies he would "encourage" Russia to attack any Nato member that failed to meet the alliance's target of 2% of their GDP. Members of Nato commit to defend any nation in the bloc that gets attacked. President Joe Biden called Mr Trump's comments "appalling and dangerous", suggesting his predecessor intended to give Russian...

A day that changed the course of German history forever: On November 9, 1989 the pressures of revolution brought down the Berlin Wall. This episode of History Stories illustrates how months of protests and mass demonstrations lead up to this fateful day. Archival footage of news coverage of the events as they unfolded is paired with powerful statements from East Berliners as they crossed over to the other side.

And so it begins. Nine months still to go before the next US presidential election and already the Republican party favourite and former President Donald Trump is sending eyebrows and blood pressure skywards in Nato capitals with his provocative statements. And yet they will delight many of his supporters. Suggesting at a rally in South Carolina that he would "encourage" aggressors (for example Russia) "to do whatever the hell they want" with Nato countries that fail to pay their dues has prompted an immediate condemnation from the White House. A spokesman called the comment "appalling and unhinged", saying it was...

….Trump, invoking a scenario in which a country not paying more were to be attacked by Russia, said, “No, I would not protect you. In fact, I would encourage them to do whatever the hell they want. You got to pay. You got to pay your bills.” The White House on Saturday night weighed in, saying President Biden had strengthened the alliance and that he would “continue to bolster American leadership and stand up for our national security interests—not against them.” The White House has been eager for opportunities to contrast Trump’s world outlook with Biden’s more traditional view that...

Russian leader Vladimir Putin said in his interview with Tucker Carlson this week that he asked U.S. President Bill Clinton in 2000 if Russia could join NATO and, while Clinton allegedly said he was personally warm to the idea, his advisers decided it was politically impossible. “I asked him: ‘Bill, do you think if Russia asked to join NATO, do you think it would happen?’ Suddenly he said, ‘You know, it’s interesting. I think so,’” Putin recalled. “But in the evening, when we met for dinner, he said: ‘You know, I’ve talked to my team, no, it’s not possible now,’”...

Couple sent to Sweden by IRGC lived in country for 5 years under fake names before being activated in plot to murder 3 Jewish citizens of Sweden, including community leader and dual US citizen. A couple was sent by the Iranian government to Sweden as undercover agents with the goal of murdering Jewish citizens, Radio Sweden reported. According to the investigation, the man and woman, who have been identified as Mahdi Ramezani and Fereshteh Sanaeifarid, were dispatched by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). They were tasked with murdering three Jews in Sweden, including Aron Verständig, Chair of the Official...

mid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, a Chinese newspaper warned on Sunday that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) could expand the conflict into a "world war." The high tensions between Russia and NATO have seemingly escalated in recent weeks after the military alliance's announcement last month of its largest military exercise in more than 35 years. Dubbed "Steadfast Defender 2024," the operation launched in late January and will run through May. It ultimately will include participation of around 90,000 military personnel from 31 NATO allies and Sweden. NATO officials have said the exercise will test the allies' ability to quickly...

From: Navy Lookout - Independent Royal Navy news and analysis 2/3/2024 During last-minute checks ahead of sailing for NATO exercise Steadfast Defender, it has been discovered that HMS Queen Elizabeth has a significant issue with her starboard propeller shaft. The ship will not sail on 4th February as planned and instead, HMS Prince of Wales will be readied to replace her. The RN has instituted additional checks on the aircraft carrier’s shaft lines as a result of the painful lessons learned from past experience with HMS Prince of Wales. In the course of an inspection, concerns have arisen around one...

Earlier this year, authorities found a tape with 12 hours of mysterious footage as the result of an anti-terrorism raid in Brussels. The hours of tape revealed that someone was spying on Belgium’s nuclear power chief, which led authorities to believe that the terrorist cell was likely planning on attacking a nuclear power plant or retrieving nuclear material to build a dirty bomb. It looks like they were right. Belgium is currently on “high alert” after authorities found a nuclear power plant security officer dead with his pass missing. The concerning development, which occurred on Thursday but was only reported...

MOSCOW, February 2-RIA Novosti. Great Britain has invited NATO allies to consider sending an expeditionary force of the alliance to Ukraine, an informed source told RIA Novosti. "In connection with the unfavorable developments for Kiev in the Ukrainian theater of military operations, Britain invited NATO allies to consider sending an expeditionary force of the alliance to Ukraine, as well as establishing a no-fly zone over the territory controlled by the Kiev authorities, and increasing the supply of weapons and equipment to the Ukrainian Armed Forces", said the agency's interlocutor. At the same time, according to him, London understands that the...

Pressure is mounting on Hungary to ratify Sweden's bid to join NATO after Budapest finally joined other European Union states in agreeing on new aid to Ukraine. Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Friday he "went to the wall" for his country before agreeing to the EU deal worth 50 billion euros ($54 billion) at a summit in Brussels on Thursday after weeks of resistance.

Well, this was a bit unexpected, given what Trump supporters have been implying about what Trump’s Ukraine policy would be. Far from cutting off funds or ending the war (the latter of which Trump has indeed promised), Trump, at a rally, told the audience that the US has been bearing a disproportionate portion of the cost and he would pressure European governments to increase their own contributions to the same level as the United States. Given that this is Trump, I wouldn’t call this an iron-clad-take-it-to-the-bank promise to keep pouring billions of dollars into Ukraine’s war coffers, but it does...

VIDEOShe tried. Oh how she tried. CNN's Poppy Harlow tried so very very hard to get NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg to slam Trump. Poor Poppy even fed him what she considered ammo in the form of a clip of Trump criticizing NATO. So what was Stoltenberg's response? Much to Poppy's shock, Stoltenberg flipped the CNN script by praising Trump for getting NATO members to pay their fair share for that organization.

Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump has said that he does not believe NATO would come to the United States’ rescue if it came under attack, once again voicing his disdain for the military bloc.“We’re paying for NATO, and we don’t get so much out of it,” Trump said on Saturday, speaking to a crowd of supporters at a presidential campaign event in Las Vegas, Nevada.“And you know – I hate to tell you this about NATO – if we ever needed their help, let’s say we were attacked, I don’t believe they’d be there. I know the people,”...

QUETTA: It seems there was no respite in attacks on Afghanistan bound Nato convoys as several more oil tankers were destroyed when unknown armed men attacked the oil tankers in the area of Mithri of the Bolan district.

Vladimir Putin is allegedly putting out feelers to see if America is ready for talks on ending the war in Ukraine. The Russian president is also 'prepared to drop opposition to Kyiv joining Nato', according to a new Bloomberg report.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, the last remaining holdout in Sweden's bid to join NATO, now says he supports its application and vows that Hungary's parliament will say yes "at the first possible opportunity." Orbán's remark, made during a call today with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, comes a day after he asked his Swedish counterpart to first fly to Hungary for negotiations on NATO membership, only to be snubbed by the Swedish government. Hungary also broke a promise not to become the last to ratify Sweden's bid, when the Turkish parliament approved Stockholm's membership status late Tuesday, some 20 months...