The pseudonym "Philo Vaihinger" has been abandoned. All posts have been and are written by me, Joseph Auclair.

Wednesday, July 18, 2018

He facilitates globalism even as he continuously undermines it

Trump says defending tiny NATO ally Montenegro could result in World War III

He sounds like Pat Buchanan.

Montenegro, located on the Adriatic Sea in southeastern Europe, joined the NATO alliance during the Trump administration. 

The nation, which borders Serbia, Albania, Bosnia and Croatia, is geographically smaller than Connecticut and has a smaller population than Washington, D.C. Russia has condemned its NATO membership.

The most recent addition to the alliance became a topic of discussion Tuesday during a Fox News interview with the president in the wake of his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"Membership in NATO obligates the members to defend any other member that's attacked," Fox News host Tucker Carlson said to Trump. 

"So let’s say Montenegro, which joined last year, is attacked. Why should my son go to Montenegro to defend it from attack?"

Trump answered: "I understand what you're saying. I've asked the same question. Montenegro is a tiny country with very strong people. … They're very aggressive people. They may get aggressive, and, congratulations, you're in World War III."

But he carries on like Hillary.

Despite his rhetoric on defense spending, the president signed onto an agreement at the NATO summit that reiterated the mutual defense language included in Article 5 of NATO's founding document.

The agreement the president signed last week notes that any "attack against one Ally will be regarded as an attack against us all."

Article 5 is the bedrock principle of NATO and the reason it is widely considered the most powerful military alliance in the world. 

The last time NATO invoked Article 5 was after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the United States.

Montenegro's prime minister was asked about Trump's interview Wednesday in parliament.

"He said that the Montenegrin people are brave and that he does not want the U.S. citizens to fight for others and for other NATO member states," Prime Minister Duško Marković said, according to an official translation provided to NBC News. 

"He did not say that only on that occasion, but he also said the same at the NATO summit, you know it because he said it publicly, not in terms of justification of NATO's existence, but of NATO funding."

According to NBC News, citing official figures, Montenegro contributes more troops per capita to the war in Afghanistan than the United States. 

Overall, Montenegro maintains a standing military of less than 2,000.

Montenegro joined NATO last year with the overwhelming consent of the U.S. Senate, which voted 97-2. 

Trump himself signed off on the country's entrance into the alliance.

No comments:

Post a Comment