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The eventual language issued by the alliance about Ukraine during July’s summit in Washington is critical. Vague commitment in 2008It was back in 2008 at a NATO summit in Budapest that Ukraine was first offered a vague commitment of an invitation to join in the future. “Of course we’d be for ‘irreversible,’” a third Eastern European official said. Generally, throughout the conflict, British officials, the closest US allies in NATO, have consistently hoped the White House would take a more aggressive stance. “When the text is on the table and the countries start to negotiate we can see the full picture,” the Eastern European official said.

Persons: Jens Stoltenberg, we’ll, Antony Blinken, Biden, Stoltenberg, Volodymyr Zelensky, Zelensky, “, ” Stoltenberg, ”, doesn’t, It’s “, Vladimir Putin, ” Putin, Putin, Jennifer Hansler Organizations: CNN, NATO, Central, “, US, Biden, European, ”, US State Department, NATO Alliance, Eastern, Eastern European Locations: United States, United Kingdom, Washington, Russia’s, Ukraine, July’s, Russia, Prague, Hungary, Central European, Kyiv, Lithuanian, Vilnius, Budapest, Russian, ”, Kharkiv, London

☆ More than 20 of 32 NATO allies spending at least 2% of GDP on defense, Stoltenberg says
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-17 | by ( Kayla Tausche | Haley Britzky | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg is visiting Washington and meeting with Biden ahead of the city’s hosting of the alliance’s annual summit, set to take place in July. “Just five years ago, there was still less than 10 allies that spent 2% of GDP on defense,” Stoltenberg said during remarks at The Wilson Center in Washington. “I can only now reveal that this year, more than 20 allies will spend at least 2% of GDP on defense.”“This is good for Europe,” he added. Several NATO member countries that either border Russia or are nearby have hiked their defense spending since 2022. Biden has heralded NATO as the “greatest defense alliance in the history of the world,” and the alliance has expanded by two member countries since he became president.

Persons: Joe Biden’s, Jens Stoltenberg, Biden, “, ” Stoltenberg, ”, Donald Trump, “ I’ve, they’re, we’re, ” Trump, Trump, – Organizations: Washington CNN, NATO, Wilson Center, America, Trump, CNN, White Locations: United States, Washington, Europe, Russia, Ukraine, Wales, Crimea, Finland, Sweden

☆ Walgreens is cutting prices on 1,500 items, joining Target, Walmart and Amazon
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-29 | by ( Jordan Valinsky | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN —Walgreens is joining other retailers in cutting prices across the board, from snacks to toiletries and even Squishmallows, in an effort to lure back inflation-weary shoppers turned off by high prices. Prices are dropping immediately on more than 1,500 items online and at its stores, which include both name and store brands, Walgreens announced Wednesday. In the past few weeks, competitors including Target, Walmart and Amazon slashed prices on thousands of household goods to rev up consumer spending. “Walgreens understands our customers are under financial strain and struggle to purchase everyday essentials,” said Tracey D. Brown, Walgreens’ retail president and chief customer officer, in a release. Meanwhile, a host of other retailers report earnings Thursday, including Dollar General and Costco.

Persons: ”, Tracey D, Brown, “, we’ve, Alliance’s, isn’t, Sarah Wyeth, “ There’s, ” Wyeth, Parija Kavilanz Organizations: New, New York CNN, Walgreens, Target, Walmart, Dollar, Costco, Shoppers Locations: New York

☆ Trump’s bombardment of dishonesty: Fact-checking 32 of his false claims to Time
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-04 | by ( Daniel Dale | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +43 min

We’re paying for close to 100% of NATO.”Facts First: Trump’s claim is false. They don’t pay their bills.”Facts First: Trump’s claim is false. (It rose to about $314 billion in 2020, Trump’s last full year in office.) Facts First: Trump’s claim is false. Facts First: Trump’s claim that “nobody died other than Ashli” is false.

Persons: Donald Trump, Trump, “, William Barr, Bill Barr, Barr, Bill, I’m, ”, it’s, Biden, Joe Biden, Tamar Hermann, Hermann, Bill Clinton, “ Trump, ” Trump, …, National Guard Trump, I’ve, George Floyd, Tim Walz, Walz, Paul —, –, Erwan, George Washington, “ don’t, they’re, Stoltenberg, Trump’s, Lagadec, Marc Lipsitch, Barack Obama, European Union won’t, Cortellessa, “ Moody’s, Moody’s, Mark Zandi, Zandi, ’ ” Zandi, Joe Biden’s, rioter Ashli Babbitt, Brian Sicknick, Sicknick, Trump’s ‘, patriotically, ‘, patriotically ’, ” Nancy Pelosi, Nancy Pelosi, “ Nancy Pelosi, Pelosi, Christopher Miller, Miller, Eric Cortellessa, Alvin Bragg’s, Bragg, Matthew Colangelo, Colangelo, Alvin Bragg, ” Cortellessa, Hillary Clinton, —, Roe, Wade, Kimberly Mutcherson, “ Donald Trump’s, Maya Manian, Mary Ziegler, Davis, Ziegler, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Roe should’ve, ’, Crime Biden, don’t, “ Biden, he’s, James Biden, Jeff Asher, Asher, It’s, ” “, ” Asher Organizations: Washington CNN, Time, Trump, NATO, Capitol, Trump’s, Trade Center, didn’t, World Trade Center, Department, ISIS, CNN, Democratic, White House, White, South Korea Trump, Pentagon’s Defense Manpower Data, Biden Administration, Congressional Research Service, Israel, Israeli Democracy Institute, National Guard, Minnesota Democratic Gov, Minnesota National Guard, Guard, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs, Transatlantic, for Disease Control, World Bank, Washington Post, Harvard, Harvard’s, National, Trump -, of Health, Human Services, Strategic, Biden, U.S . International Trade Commission, European, Benz, Volkswagen, BMW, European Union, US, European Automobile Manufacturers ’ Association, Bloomberg Economics, US Capitol Police, Capitol Police, “, Republican, Democratic Rep, National Guardsmen, District of Columbia National Guard, Army, Capitol Police Board, Senate, Justice Department, Pulitzer Foundation, Pulitzer, New York Times, Electoral, Democrat, ” Rutgers Law, American University, university’s Health, University of California, ”, Customs, Border Protection, Crime, Manchurian, Republicans, FBI Locations: “, New York City, Saudi, Florida, al Qaeda, New York, Texas, Mexico, South Korea, Trump , South Korea, South, Korea, Israel, Washington, Trump , Minneapolis, Minneapolis, Trump, Minnesota, St, United States, Germany, Brussels, Belgium, Harvard University, China, EU, DC, Trump’s, ”, York, Manhattan, York’s, Russia, That’s

☆ NATO Wants to Show Support for Ukraine, but Only So Much
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-04 | by ( Lara Jakes | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

When NATO’s leaders gather this summer to celebrate the 75th anniversary of their military alliance, the last thing they want to see is a resurgent Russian military marching across Ukraine because Europe was too weak to provide Kyiv with the support it needed. What Ukraine wants, ultimately, is a formal invitation to join NATO. NATO has no appetite for taking on a new member that, because of the alliance’s covenant of collective security, would draw it into the biggest land war in Europe since 1945. That has sent NATO searching for some middle ground, something short of membership but meaty enough to show that it is backing Ukraine “for the long haul,” as Jens Stoltenberg, the NATO secretary general, put it this week. What that will be has so far proven elusive, according to senior Western diplomats involved in the discussions.

Persons: Ukraine “, Jens Stoltenberg Organizations: NATO Locations: Russian, Ukraine, Europe, Washington, NATO

☆ NATO’s next challenge: How to reverse years of underfunding defense
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-03 | by ( Luke Mcgee | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

For over a decade, allies have chronically underspent on defense while the West’s adversaries modernized and bolstered their own military capabilities. Defense spending stayed low across the West not just because of budget pressures, but also because everyone – including the US – was frightened to provoke Russia. However, the nature of NATO allies’ support for Ukraine – much of it direct military support – has exposed the vulnerability that years of underfunding has caused the alliance. Fabian Bimmer/Pool/ReutersThis means that the challenge in front of NATO allies now is not just how can they meet the demand for weapons coming from Ukraine, but how do they reverse years of underfunding their own defenses? Some allies don’t trust that others will be quite so generous with defense spending if the Russia-Ukraine war were to end.

Persons: Vladimir Putin’s, Putin, Volodymyr Zelensky, Murat Kula, ”, ” John Herbst, Antony Blinken, Ulf Kristersson, Andrew Caballero, Reynolds, underfunding, It’s, Herbst, NATO’s, –, Jens Stoltenberg, Olaf Scholz, Fabian Bimmer, Stoltenberg, ” Stoltenberg, Peter Ricketts, Douglas Lute, “ Organizations: CNN, NATO, Turkish, Anadolu Agency, Pentagon, “, Swedish, US State Department, Getty, Ukraine, Rheinmetall, Trump Locations: Soviet, Bosnia, Kosovo, Afghanistan, Iraq, Ukraine, United States, British, Vilnius, Russia, Kyiv, Europe, Germany, AFP, North Korea, Iran, Washington, Unterluess, Baltic, Brussels, Finland, Sweden, NATO

☆ This US state is not covered by the NATO treaty. Some experts say that needs to change
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-29 | by ( Brad Lendon | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Because in a quirk of geography and history, Hawaii is not technically covered by the NATO pact. Mengshin Lin/AP“People tend to assume Hawaii is part of the US and therefore it’s covered by NATO,” he says. The exception is spelled out in the Washington Treaty, the document that established NATO in 1949, a decade before Hawaii became a state. It also says any island territories must be in the North Atlantic, north of the Tropic of Cancer. Hawaii, Guam, Taiwan and North KoreaSome experts say times have changed in the decades since the Washington Treaty was signed – and argue today’s political situation in the Indo-Pacific might require a rethink.

Persons: “, ”, David Santoro, Mengshin Lin, ” Santoro, –, China’s, Xi Jinping, —, Joe Biden, John Hemmings, ” Hemmings, Hemmings, Forum’s Santoro, Amy Picard, Luis Simon, Simon, ” Simon Organizations: CNN, NATO, Hawaii, Pacific Command, Atlantic Treaty Organization, Aloha, Pacific Forum, Sailors, USS Arizona Memorial, USS, 82nd, Treaty Organization, Washington Treaty, Tropic, Cancer, US State Department, United, Argentine, South Atlantic, Communist Party, Taiwan Relations, White, Center, New, New American Security, Foreign, USS Arizona . US Navy, Interim, Andersen Air Force Base, Korean, . Air Force, 23rd Expeditionary Bomb Squadron, Force, . Air Force ‘ Coalition, Research Centre, Security, Brussels School, Governance, NATO Command, Union Locations: Sweden, United States, Hawaii, Pearl, Honolulu, USS Arizona, Pearl Harbor, Honolulu , Hawaii, California , Colorado, Alaska, North America, Washington, Europe, Argentina, Falkland, British, South, Guam, Taiwan, North Korea, New American, China, Beijing, Oahu, USS West Virginia, USS Tennessee, France, Nazi Germany, Japan, Italy, Korean, Soviet Union, Belgium, Ukraine

☆ Ukraine Could Deploy F-16s as Soon as July, but Only a Few
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-11 | by ( Lara Jakes | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The jets are ready, and the flight instructors are waiting, at a new training center in Romania that was created to teach Ukraine’s pilots to fly the F-16 warplane. But the delay is a window into the confusion and chaos that has confronted the military alliance’s rush to supply the F-16s. That is not to say that Ukraine’s pilots are not being prepared. Twelve pilots so far — fewer than a full squadron — are expected to be ready to fly F-16s in combat by this summer after 10 months of training in Denmark, Britain and the United States. But by the time the pilots return to Ukraine, as few as six F-16s will have been delivered out of about 45 of the fighter jets that European allies have promised.

Persons: It’s Organizations: NATO Locations: Romania, Denmark, Britain, United States, Ukraine

☆ Promises Donald Trump has made so far in his campaign for a second term
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-06 | by ( Piper Hudspethblackburn | Piper Hudspeth Blackburn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +17 min

Trump also said in that campaign video that he would cut funding for schools that teach critical race theory and gender ideology. Health careLast November, Trump promised to replace the Affordable Care Act, known colloquially as Obamacare, in a series of posts on Truth Social. Trump also vowed in a June 2023 campaign video to reinstate his previous executive order so that the US government would pay the same price for pharmaceuticals as other developed countries. The former president added in a campaign video that he would stop lobbyists and government contractors from pushing senior military officials toward war. We will reverse almost all of them,” Trump said in a campaign video.

Persons: Donald Trump, Joe Biden, Immigration Trump, Trump, ”, “, ” “ We’ll, ” Trump, Education Trump, Obamacare, Biden, ” “, Antonin Scalia, Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, ‘ Everybody’s, ’, ‘, he’s, Energy Trump, “ We’re, ” “ It’s, Equity “, CNN’s Tami Luhby, Kate Sullivan, Kristin Holmes Organizations: CNN, Republican, Immigration, Des Moines Register, ATF, FBI, DHS, Hamas, Department of Defense, Education, of Education, of Justice, Department of Education, Health, Trump, Democrats, Trump Administration, Justice, CIA, Department, U.S, Attorneys, Soros District, Marxist, National Guard, Department of Justice, NATO, Cities, Environmental Protection Agency, Energy, Trade, Trump Reciprocal Trade, Economy Trump, Black Conservative, Rifle Association, Legislative Action, Equity Locations: United States, Israel, America, United States of America, State, Washington , DC, Washington, NATO, American, South Carolina, Russia, Ukraine, New Hampshire, New, China, Michigan, Des Moines , Iowa

☆ Sweden clears final hurdle in bid to join NATO after Hungary approves accession
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-26 | by ( Joshua Berlinger | Stephanie Halasz | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Of the 194 members of parliament who voted, just six rejected Sweden’s accession. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg confirmed that Sweden will join the alliance now that all allies have approved Sweden’s bid to join. As NATO states, Finland and Sweden will enjoy the protection granted under Article 5 of the treaty that established the alliance – which states that an attack on one member is considered an attack against all. While most NATO members quickly approved Finland and Sweden’s applications, Hungary and Turkey held out for some time. Video Ad Feedback Turkish parliament approves Sweden's NATO membership bid 01:05 - Source: CNNShortly after the Turkish vote, Orban told NATO chief Stoltenberg that his government would also support Swedish membership.

Persons: CNN —, Vladimir Putin, Ulf Kristersson, Viktor Orban, Sweden’s, ” Kristersson, Jens Stoltenberg, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Orban, Stoltenberg, Putin, Luke McGee, Lauren Kent Organizations: CNN, NATO, Stockholm, Swedish, Gripen, “, United, Russia, Ukraine, Union, EU, Sweden’s, Budapest, Kyiv Locations: Budapest, Hungary, Swedish, “ Sweden, Sweden, United States, Atlantic Treaty, Eastern Europe, Russia’s, Finland, Russia, Ukraine, Turkey, Stockholm, EU, Europe, Israel

☆ Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban lauds new phase with Sweden ahead of vote on its NATO bid
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-23 | by ( Jennifer Hauser | Tara John | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said his country had opened a new phase with Sweden during a joint press conference with Swedish counterpart Ulf Kristersson on Friday as Budapest prepares to ratify Stockholm’s long-delayed NATO bid. Orban, who said last week that the Hungarian Parliament would vote on ratification on Monday, met with Kristersson on Friday and announced at the press conference that Hungary had bought four fighter jets from Sweden. “Being members together in NATO we [will be] able to reconstruct the full trust towards each other,” Orban added later. Sweden and Finland applied for NATO membership in 2022 and Finland joined NATO in April 2023 – doubling the alliance’s border with Russia. But Sweden’s bid was mired in challenges.

Persons: Viktor Orban, Ulf Kristersson, Orban, Kristersson, “, ” Orban, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Vladimir Putin, Katalin Organizations: CNN, Swedish, Budapest, NATO, Russia, Gripen, Kurdistan Workers ’ Party, European Union Locations: Hungarian, Sweden, Hungary, Ukraine, Finland, Russia, Turkey

☆ Hungary can ratify Sweden’s NATO bid as soon as Feb 26, Orban says
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-17 | by ( Catherine Nicholls | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Hungary can ratify Sweden’s NATO bid as soon as February 26 when the country’s parliament reconvenes, Prime Minister Viktor Orban announced on Saturday. “We are going in the direction that, at the start of parliament’s spring session, we can ratify Sweden’s accession to NATO.”According to the Hungarian government’s website, the parliament reconvenes for its spring session on February 26. Hungary is the last NATO member to approve Sweden’s accession to the military alliance. Last June, Orban’s party Fidesz told CNN that it expected Sweden to “allay its concerns” before the vote on Sweden’s accession to NATO. Finland joined NATO in April 2023 – doubling the alliance’s border with Russia – but Sweden’s bid was mired in challenges.

Persons: reconvenes, Viktor Orban, ” Orban, Orban’s, Orban, Jens Stoltenberg, “, Vladimir Putin, Katalin Organizations: CNN, NATO, Swedish, Fidesz, ”, Russia, European Union Locations: Hungary, Sweden, ” Sweden, Finland, Ukraine, Russia, Hungarian, Turkey

☆ NATO: Record 18 states expected to meet 2% defense spending threshold this year
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-14 | by ( James Frater | Joshua Berlinger | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Eighteen of NATO’s 31 members are expected to spend at least 2% of their GDP on defense this year, the treaty organization’s leader said on Wednesday. “That is another record number and a six-fold increase from 2014 when only three allies met their target,” NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Wednesday ahead of a meeting between the alliance’s defense ministers in Brussels. Former US President Donald Trump, who is running for reelection in November, brought renewed scrutiny to the issue of defense spending among NATO members last weekend, when he said at a rally he would encourage Russia to do “whatever the hell they want” to any NATO member country that doesn’t meet spending guidelines on defense – effectively undercutting the collective defense clause at the heart of the treaty. The German Defense Ministry said Wednesday that its 2024 budget will see its defense spending meet the 2% threshold for the first time since the early 1990s. NATO as a whole is expected to reach the 2% threshold for the first time this year.

Persons: Jens Stoltenberg, Donald Trump, –, Stoltenberg, ” Stoltenberg, ” Organizations: CNN, NATO, Allies, German Defense Ministry Locations: Brussels, Russia, Canada, Germany

☆ Fact check: Debunking five false Trump claims about NATO
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-13 | by ( Daniel Dale | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

And Trump has for years made a variety of other false claims about spending by NATO and its members. As of 2023, 11 of 30 NATO members were meeting the 2% target, NATO estimates show. NATO members’ spending before Trump took officeAs president, Trump claimed that NATO members’ spending had declined “every single year” until he took office in 2017. Facts First: Trump’s claims that NATO members’ spending had declined every year until he took office are false. After referring to NATO members Trump said he pressured himself, he continued: “And then I hear that they like Obama better.

Persons: Donald Trump, Trump, ”, Russia “, didn’t, –, Stephen Saideman, ” Saideman, Erwan, George Washington University’s, ” Lagadec, “, recommitted, Jens Stoltenberg, Saideman, “ Putin, Joe Biden, Lagadec, Barack Obama, Obama, George W, Bush, we’ve, ” Bush Organizations: Washington CNN, Atlantic Treaty Organization, NATO, CNN, Trump, International Affairs, Carleton University, Elliott School of International Affairs, Transatlantic, Ukraine ”, NATO –, “, ”, EU Locations: Russia, Wales, Canada, Brussels, Ukraine’s Crimea, –, Crimea, Europe, Afghanistan, Ukraine, Germany, Belgium, Czech Republic, Romania

☆ Opinion: How serious is Trump about pulling out of NATO? Very
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-13 | by ( Peter Bergen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

The idea that foreign countries are freeloading off the United States plays well with his base, but Trump either doesn’t understand how NATO works or chooses not to. Meanwhile, in 2014, all NATO countries agreed to spend at least 2% of their GDP on defense by this year. Every US president since Barack Obama has pressed NATO countries to reach that expenditure level, but at the time of the agreement, only three NATO countries — the US, United Kingdom and Greece — were doing so. In 2017, NATO European countries and Canada spent around $270 billion on their defense, while the United States spent around $626 billion. No matter how wrong-headed it might be, according to his close advisers Trump seems quite serious about getting out of NATO.

Persons: Peter Bergen, ”, Donald Trump’s, James Mattis, Trump, “, ” Trump, Barack Obama, Greece —, Vladimir Putin, Olaf Scholz, Monday, Putin, United States isn’t “, Angela Merkel, Merkel, John Bolton Organizations: New, Arizona State University, Apple, Spotify, Trump Administration, CNN, NATO, Trump, New York Times, United, Canada Locations: New America, Russia, United States, United Kingdom, Greece, Trump , Russian, Ukraine, Estonia, Lithuania, Romania, Germany, Canada, Japan, Saudi Arabia, New Hampshire, Germans, Washington, New York City, Afghanistan, France

☆ Trump’s incendiary NATO remarks send very real shudders through Europe
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-12 | by ( Nick Paton Walsh | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

NATO gives it a global bedrock of legitimacy, support for the dollar, and the post-Soviet hegemony it thrives upon. Saturday’s misunderstanding considered, Trump’s comments come at a devastatingly bad time for Europe. The more the US bemoans its allies and their miserly neglect of NATO, and withdraw from it, the less powerful it is. Is NATO willing to go to war with Moscow over Russian-speaking parts of the Baltic state of Estonia? He is not simply saying the US won’t help NATO allies who haven’t paid.

Persons: Donald Trump, Trump, doesn’t, –, Vladimir Putin, Putin, Tucker Carlson, Russia’s, ’, Charles Michel, Trump’s, haven’t Organizations: London CNN, Trump, NATO, Republican, GOP, Putin, Fox News, Kremlin, Senior, Britons, European Locations: Russia, Europe, Ukraine, Kyiv, America, Moscow, Kherson, Mykolaiv, Romania, France, Baltic, Estonia, Svalbard, Russian, Finland, Sweden, Western Europe

☆ NATO chief says Trump’s comments on abandoning alliance endangers US and European troops
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-12 | by ( Simone Mccarthy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

In a statement Sunday, Stoltenberg said such comments put European and American soldiers at an increased risk. He also criticized American defense pacts with Asian allies Japan and South Korea. The conflict has raised concerns Putin may have further expansionist ambitions, which the leader denies, or that a NATO country may become directly embroiled. European Council President Charles Michel also hit back against the comments and said they reemphasize the need to keep the alliance strong. You got to pay your bills.”Biden said Sunday that Trump “is making it clear that he will abandon our NATO allies” and outlined the potential consequences of Trump’s comments.

Persons: Jens Stoltenberg, Donald Trump, Trump, Stoltenberg, ” Stoltenberg, “, NATO Ally, ”, Vladimir Putin, Putin, Trump’s, Joe Biden’s, Charles Michel, ” Michel, ” Trump, ” Biden Organizations: CNN, NATO, International Criminal, Washington, European, Atlantic Treaty Organization, Sunday, Trump, “, Ukraine Locations: Russia, Europe, South, Taiwan, Asia, Japan, South Korea, Ukraine, Sweden, Finland, Turkey, China, Korea, North Korea, Philippines, United States, Pacific, Soviet Union, Canada, Poland, Baltic States, Israel

☆ ‘US will be out of NATO’ in second Trump term, former senior adviser warns
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-12 | by ( Jim Sciutto | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

“The point is, he saw absolutely no point in NATO,” Kelly said in the book. “President Trump got our allies to increase their NATO spending by demanding they pay up, but Joe Biden went back to letting them take advantage of the American taxpayer. Kelly said he tried to explain the importance of NATO to Trump in terms he believed the president would understand. In the case of withdrawing from NATO, Kelly tried to convey to Trump that both applied. “US support for Ukraine would end,” said the senior US official who served under Trump and Biden.

Persons: Donald Trump’s, Powers, Joe Biden, ” John Bolton, “, ”, John Kelly, ” Kelly, Vladimir, Putin, Kim, Jong, Putin wouldn’t, ’ ”, Trump, Obama, Biden, ” Trump, Jason Miller, can’t, Kelly, Mark Milley, Mark Esper, Bolton, I’d, what’s, ’ Organizations: CNN, NATO, Trump, US, Biden, ”, South, White, Russia, “, Atlantic Treaty Organization, Joint Chiefs, Fox News Locations: Russia, South Korea, Japan, North Korea, Europe, Brussels, “, Ukraine, Taiwan, China, Bolton

As of last year, a majority of NATO countries did not meet this pledge. But the alliance does not have its own army, and its military operations are staffed and supplied by member countries. Which Countries Meet NATO’s 2% Defense Spending Target? Only 11 of the 31 NATO member countries were expected to meet that target for 2023, according to estimates published last July by the alliance. That means that 20 NATO countries were expected to spend less than 2% of their GDP on defense, based on the 2023 estimates.

Persons: Donald Trump’s, Trump, we’re, Russia –, ” Trump, “, ’, ” Organizations: NATO, Reuters, Republican Locations: Russia, Ukraine, South Carolina, U.S, United States, Germany, United Kingdom, Poland, Greece, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, Luxembourg, Belgium, Spain, Canada

☆ Analysis: The 2024 campaign gets grimmer, with Trump’s extremism on full display alongside concerns over Biden’s age
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-12 | by ( Stephen Collinson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +14 min

Trump is giving every impression that his second term would be even more aberrant than his first, as he vows to use presidential power to exact retribution against his enemies. While a Biden vs. Trump race would be a rematch of 2020, it would not necessarily be the same. In Trump, voters can pick an ex-president facing 91 criminal charges who has been found liable for fraud, sexual battery and defamation in court. It also offered a potential roadmap to the substance and character of his possible second term. Why the 2020 election lineup may be locked inThe renewed focus on Biden’s age is likely to open another round of speculation about whether he could be replaced on the Democratic ticket.

Persons: Joe Biden, Donald Trump, Biden, Trump, he’s, Vladimir Putin, Nikki Haley’s, crave, Robert F, Kennedy Jr, —, “ Donald Trump’s, Putin, ” Biden, Trump’s, ”, Florida GOP Sen, Marco Rubio, “ Donald Trump, ” Rubio, Charles Michel, Russia, Tucker Carlson, Manuel Balce Ceneta, Michael, He’s, Michael Haley, Nikki Haley, Arizona Sen, John McCain, Robert Hur’s, parry, Mandel Ngan, gaffes —, “, Ro Khanna, Jake Tapper, Biden’s missteps, Haley, Nancy Pelosi, he’d, Dean Phillips, Kamala Harris, Harris Organizations: CNN, Oval, Biden, Trump, NATO, White, Florida GOP, Foreign Relations, Union, European Council, GOP, ABC, Getty, ” Democratic, Democratic, Democratic Party Locations: South Carolina, Russia, NATO, Europe, miscalculations, Moscow, Ukraine, Poland, Baltic States, Florida, “ State, Russian, Conway , South Carolina, Africa, Arizona, Vietnam, Egypt, Mexico, AFP, California, reunifying

But this time, Trump went further, saying had told the member that he would, in fact, “encourage” Russia to do as it wishes in that case. But he often depicted NATO allies as leeches on the U.S. military and openly questioned the value of the military alliance that has defined American foreign policy for decades. As of 2022, NATO reported that seven of what are now 31 NATO member countries were meeting that obligation — up from three in 2014. Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine has spurred additional military spending by some NATO members. Trump has often tried to take credit for that increase, and bragged again Saturday that, as a results of his threats, “hundreds of billions of dollars came into NATO”— even though countries do not pay NATO directly.

Persons: Donald Trump, Russia “, ”, Trump, ’ ” Trump, “, NATO’s Organizations: — Republican, NATO, ”, ’, Congress, SENATE, AS, “ IF, WE, US, UNITED STATES, Trump, ., NATO ” Locations: Russia, Conway , South Carolina, ” Russia, Ukraine’s Crimean, Ukraine, U.S, United States

HELSINKI (AP) — Ex-Prime Minister Alexander Stubb was projected to win the first round of Finland's presidential election on Sunday and face runner-up Pekka Haavisto in a runoff next month. Finnish public broadcaster YLE projected that Stubb won the first round of the presidential election with 27.3% of the votes, while Haavisto, an ex-foreign minister, took second place with 25.8%. Recent polls suggest that former Prime Minister Alexander Stubb, 55, and ex-Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto, 65, are the leading contenders. The president also acts as the supreme commander of the Finnish military, a particularly important duty in Europe's current security environment. About 4.5 million citizens were eligible to vote for Finland’s new head of state from an array of nine candidates — six men and three women.

Persons: —, Alexander Stubb, Pekka Haavisto, Stubb, Jussi Halla, aho, Sauli Niinistö, “, ”, Eve Kinnunen, Haavisto, Olli Rehn, Niinistö, Vladimir Putin of, ___ Kostya Manenkov, Sergei Grits Organizations: HELSINKI, YLE, Legal, Nordic, NATO, Union, National Coalition Party, Finns, Bank of Finland, Halla, Associated Press, Helsinki, Green League Locations: Finnish, Stubb, Finland, HELSINKI, Russia, United States, China, Helsinki, Sunday’s, Europe, Ukraine, Vladimir Putin of Russia, Nordic, Finland’s, Sweden, Hungary

Unlike in most European countries, the president of Finland holds executive power in formulating foreign and security policy, particularly when dealing with countries outside the European Union like the United States, Russia and China. “Clearly, the main task of the president is to steer foreign policy,” said Teivo Teivainen, professor of world politics at the University of Helsinki. Finland became the Western military alliance’s 31st member in April last year, much to the annoyance of Russia and President Vladimir Putin. Under the Finnish Constitution, the president decides on foreign and security policy issues together with the government. Late last year, Finland closed its border with Russia after some 1,300 migrants without proper documentation or visas arrived across the frontier just months after Finland joined NATO.

Persons: ”, Teivo Teivainen, —, Sauli Niinistö, Alexander Stubb, Pekka Haavisto, Haavisto, Jussi Halla, Olli Rehn, Niinistö, Vladimir Putin, Teivainen, Petteri, Putin, Washington —, ” Niinistö Organizations: HELSINKI, NATO, Union, University of Helsinki, Bank of Finland, Kyiv —, Hamas, Helsinki, Washington, YLE, Nordic, Kremlin Locations: Nordic, Ukraine, Russia, United States, China, Sunday’s, Finland, Ukraine —, Moscow, Sweden, Finland’s, Finnish, Moscow , Washington, Beijing, Baltic, Vainikkala

☆ Biden Urges Congress to Quickly Approve F-16 Sale to Turkey
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-24 | by ( Edward Wong | More About Edward Wong | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

President Biden sent a letter to four senior members of Congress on Wednesday urging them to quickly approve a $20 billion sale of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey, following the vote one day earlier by Turkey’s Parliament to allow Sweden to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, according to three U.S. officials. The White House sent the letter to the top Democratic and Republican lawmakers on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the House Foreign Affairs Committee, which have oversight of arms transfers by the State Department to other nations. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey, a member of NATO, has linked his country’s approval of Sweden’s accession to the security organization to the F-16 sales, which had been pending. Both Sweden and Finland had asked to join NATO after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and the vast majority of the alliance’s members soon agreed. Turkey approved Finland’s bid but, along with Hungary, has withheld approval for Sweden.

Persons: Biden, Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Organizations: Atlantic Treaty Organization, White House, Democratic, Republican, Senate Foreign Relations, House Foreign Affairs Committee, State Department, NATO Locations: Turkey, Sweden, Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey, Finland, Ukraine, Hungary

☆ Opinion | Debates Over Words Amid War: ‘Antisemitism,’ ‘Anti-Zionism,’ ‘Apartheid’
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-24 | by ( ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

To the Editor:Re “The Question of Anti-Zionism and Antisemitism,” by Charles M. Blow (column, Nov. 16):The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism, adopted by dozens of countries around the world, indeed does define anti-Zionism as antisemitism. To debate Zionism is precisely the problem facing the Jews today and most especially Israelis who live in an absurd world in which the nature of their birthright is called into question, as every single Israeli is born of Zionism. How ironic that in this day and age in the United States, where every minority is protected and words matter more than ever, it is somehow acceptable to define oneself as anti-Zionist, even if Jewish. It is offensive, absurd and deeply antisemitic. As an American Israeli, I cannot stress enough how toxic this concept is to Israelis and how it does nothing to help the cause of peace today.

Persons: Charles M Locations: Israel, United States, American

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