Kevin
Liptak in his article, “Trump Salutes NATO with Vow of Strong Support” provides
an update on Trumps current stance on NATO. Throughout his campaign trump
questioned the relevance of NATO and held varying opinions. He said that it was
unable to protect against modern day threats. Now upon entering into office
Trump proclaims his support for the organization. His main concern at this time is that all
member countries pay their full dues. Many countries are not doing so right
now. Only five of the 28 countries have met the necessary 2% of their gross
domestic products on defense payment towards the alliance. In his support for
the organization Trump vows to provide new equipment to better ensure global
security.
The
text spends a lot of time discussing NATO expansion. As of March 1999, only 19
countries held membership in the organization. President Clinton sought the
enlargement of the alliance in order to protect US interests. Current events
suggest the expected change from events portrayed in the text. NATO is now 28
countries strong. Trump also held differing views on the importance of NATO
during his campaign in contrast to Clinton’s stressed importance on the
organization. Clinton viewed NATO as crucial to supporting the US, However, Trump portrayed the view while campaigning that it was out of date and nonessential.
Trump in his demands that countries pay up also goes against the idea of
enlargement of NATO. It is clear that support and strength of NATO has
developed and changed overtime from the section in the text book and current
events.
Caitlin,
ReplyDeleteI liked how you discussed Trump's flipping of ideas about NATO's necessity in the current world, as well as President Clinton's goal to enlarge NATO by adding more member states to maintain American interests. It is important to note how Trump's ideas have changed, and your inclusion of his public belief that the member states should pay their fair dues for military protection is key. I think you could have discussed more about the pros and cons for expanding NATO, but overall this was a very informative and well written post.
Caitlin I liked the article you found for your post.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Matt how I thought it was interesting that Trump "questioned the relevance of NATO" but now supports it. I wanted to know your personal thoughts on why Trump may have changed his views. I honestly am unsure maybe he wanted to just contradict things during his campaign to gain more media coverage, he realized the importance NATO has within the global community and the U.S. ties as well, or maybe because he thought being a part of NATO benefits the U.S? I am not sure so wanted to get your opinion as well as anyone else who reads this.
Your post also mentions how Trump will "provide new equipment to better ensure global security" so it seems that the U.S. contributes not only a vast majority of money but also equipment in the future for NATO, which would help against the modern day threats thought that NATO could not defeat. It seems as though by staying in NATO Trump can aid NATO and show the global community how strong the U.S. is and how much stake and power we have within NATO which will become essentially more dependent on the U.S. money and equipment.