Daily Archives: May 28, 2017

"Twenty-three of the 28 member nations are still not paying what they should," Trump told heads of NATO states assembled Thursday in Brussels. "Many of these nations owe massive amounts of money from past years."

It's not the first time Trump has suggested other NATO members have a debt to pay.

But NATO does not keep a running tab of what its members spend on defense. Treaty members target spending 2% of economic output on defense -- but that is merely a guideline.

NATO members spend money on their own defense. The funds they send to NATO directly account for less than 1% of overall defense spending by members of the alliance.

Here's how it works:

National budgets

NATO is based on the principle of collective defense: an attack against one or more members is considered an attack against all. So far that has only been invoked once -- in response to the September 11 attacks.

To make the idea work, it is important for all members to make sure their armed forces are in good shape. So NATO sets an official target on how much they should spend. That currently stands at 2% of GDP.

The 2% target is described as a "guideline." There is no penalty for not meeting it.

It is up to each country to decide how much to spend and how to use the money.

Related: Trump criticized NATO spending. Here's what's really going on

Related: Germany's defense minister to Trump: No, we don't owe NATO money

The North Atlantic alliance has its own military budget worth 1.29 billion ($1.4 billion), which is used to fund some operations and the NATO strategic command center, as well as training and research. But it is miniscule compared to overall spending on defense by NATO countries, which NATO estimates will total more than $921 billion in 2017.

The alliance also has a civilian budget of 234.4 million ($252 million), used mainly to fund the NATO headquarters in Belgium, and its administration.

Spending is rising

Only five of NATO's 28 members -- the U.S., Greece, Poland, Estonia and the U.K. -- meet the 2% target.

The rest lag behind. Germany is set to spend 1.2% of GDP on defense this year, France 1.79%. Belgium, Spain and Luxembourg all spend less than 1%.

NATO has long been pushing for higher spending. At a summit in 2014, all members who were falling short promised to move toward the official target within a decade.

That pledge appears to be holding: The alliance as a whole increased defense spending for the first time in two decades in 2015.

And last year, 22 of 28 NATO members increased their defense budgets. If the U.S. is removed from the equation, the group increased its spending by 3.8% in 2016. Including the U.S., overall spending rose by 2.9%.

Fear of Russian aggression is driving some of the recent splurge. Latvia, which shares a border with Russia, increased its defense budget by 42% in 2016. Its neighbor Lithuania boosted its outlays by 34%.

The 2% problem

So why don't more countries spend 2% of GDP? Many experts point out that the target is problematic.

NATO has warned against a rush to spend for the sake of spending, emphasizing that budget decisions must be based on strategic planning. For example, it wants countries to spend 20% of their defense budgets on equipment.

Related: Lockheed Martin CEO promises Trump she'll cut F-35 costs

There's also pressure for more coordination of spending among European countries.

Some member countries simply don't have armies big enough to be able to absorb a huge increase in funding quickly -- that's why the 2014 summit pledge gave laggards until 2024 to do more.

NATO member Iceland, for example, doesn't have its own army and spends just 0.1% of its GDP on defense, according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development.

And the 2% target doesn't just cover spending on defense to meet NATO commitments. The money can be used to fund other activities such as European peace missions in the Central African Republic and Mali, as well as national missions that are not part of NATO operations, for example the fight against ISIS.

CNNMoney (London) First published May 25, 2017: 11:55 AM ET

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NATO funding: How it works and who pays what

Charlotte Observer

Trump's behavior at NATO is a national embarrassment Charlotte Observer According to press pool reports, Trump gave NATO allies the cold shoulder. He was the party guest who shows up and berates the hosts for not paying for their fair share of the defense spending cake. To borrow from NFL player Marshawn Lynch, Trump acted ... Trump says NATO allies don't pay their share; is that true?The Seattle Times Trump, NATO, and an effective Western allianceWashington Examiner Trump Remains a NATO SkepticThe Atlantic New York Post -Fox News all 3,029 news articles »

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Trump's behavior at NATO is a national embarrassment - Charlotte Observer

Calvin Woodward and Josh Boak, Associated Press 3:02 p.m. ET May 27, 2017

President Trump, center, flanked by British Prime Minister Theresa May, third from right, and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, second from left, joins fellow leaders in a group photo at NATO headquarters during the NATO Summit in Brussels, Belgium on May 25, 2017.(Photo: Sean Kilpatrick, AP)

WASHINGTON Its been a muted week for the real Donald Trump, the Twitter account where the president normally says a lot of things that are unreal. That respite may have come to a close, though, as he wrapped up his foreign trip with yet another mistold tale about NATO.

In a tweet and a speech before leaving for home Saturday, he said that thanks to him, money is starting to pour into NATO, which it isnt.

Besides going light on provocative tweets, Trump held no news conferences and gave no extended interviews abroad. Those venues are frequent sources of Trumps off-the-cuff misstatements. Even a more scripted Trump, though, does not always tell it straight, and the release of his proposed budget stirred a fresh round of questionable rhetoric from his stateside aides.

Read more:

Is NATO 'obsolete' or not? Trump and military alliance aim to work out differences

Trump's NATO mystery: How much does he support it?

Trump leaves G-7 summit amid climate change, trade disputes

At NATO, Trump does not pledge U.S. commitment to collective defense

A look at the NATOstatements under scrutiny over the past week:

TRUMP: I will tell you, a big difference over the last year, money is actually starting to pour into NATO from countries that would not have been doing what theyre doing now had I not been elected, I can tell you that. Money is starting to pour in. speech to U.S. troops in Sicily on Saturday

TRUMP tweet: Many NATO countries have agreed to step up payments considerably, as they should. Money is beginning to pour in.

THE FACTS: First, no money is pouring in and countries do not pay the U.S. Nor do they pay NATO directly, apart from administrative expenses, which are not the issue.

The issue is how much each NATO member country spends on its own defense.

Although the president is right that many NATO countries have agreed to spend more on their military budgets, that is not a result of the NATO summit this past week at which Trump pressed them to do so. The countries agreed in 2014 to stop cutting their military spending and to start increasing it toward 2 percent of their gross domestic product by 2024.

That goal was set during the Obama administration and is less than an ironclad commitment.

TRUMP: But 23 of the 28 member nations are still not paying what they should be paying and what they are supposed to be paying for their defense. This is not fair to the people and taxpayers of the United States and many of these nations owe massive amounts of money from past years, and not paying in those past years. remarks to NATO on Thursday

THE FACTS: Members of the alliance are not in arrears in their military spending. They are not in debt to the United States, or failing to meet a current standard, and Washington is not trying to collect anything, despite the presidents contention that they owe massive amounts of money. They merely committed in 2014 to work toward the goal of 2 percent of GDP by 2024.

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Fact check: President Trump and his mistold NATO tales - USA TODAY

President Trump's pressuring of NATO member states to pay their fair share for a common defense is "consistent" with the message delivered by past administrations, Secretary of Defense James Mattis told "Face the Nation" in an interview on Saturday.

In a speech this week at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Mr. Trump said he was "honored" to address an alliance that has "promoted safety and peace across the globe." But in the same speech, the president also criticized "23 of the 28 member nations" for not paying enough for their national defense.

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Associated Press reporter Ken Thomas breaks down President Trump's message to world leaders at the NATO summit in Brussels.

"This is not fair to the people and taxpayers of the United States," Mr. Trump said.

The president's emphasis on member states' financial contributions to the alliance, Mattis told "Face the Nation" host John Dickerson on Saturday, is in keeping with past administrations.

"Having been a NATO officer, under President Bush and President Obama, and then having been back there in Brussels representing the Department of Defense under President Trumpthis is a consistent message that we have given the NATO nations," said Mattis.

"They get the best defense in the world, the NATO countries, and we've all got to be willing to deal with it like a bank: if you want to take something out of it you've got to put something into it."

The secretary of defense said that presidents Bush and Obama sent similar messages to NATO members.

"So what President Trump is doing is consistent with both prior Republican and Democrat administrations. And the bottom line is that nations are spending more on defense now than they were five years ago or ten years ago."

For more of Dickerson's interview with the secretary of defense, tune into "Face the Nation" tomorrow. Check your local listings for airtimes.

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Mattis: Trump's message on NATO consistent with past presidents - CBS News

Gauthier Destenay, the husband of Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel, was omitted on Saturday from the caption of an official White House photo of NATO spouses.

The White House corrected the caption amid backlash and accusations of homophobia on Facebook. Facebook's edit history makes it possible to see when and how a post was changed.

The photo pictures the spouses of 10 NATO leaders in Brussels and was part of a larger collection of photos from President Trump's first trip abroad as president.

Destenay and Bettel married in 2015, making Destenay the first same-sex spouse of a head of a European Union state.

Actor Kal Penn, who served as former President Obama's associate director in the White House Office of Public Engagement, responded to Destenay's initial omission on Twitter, pointing out that such photos and captions are "carefully planned" and are approved by senior White House staff.

Responding to a question about whether the omission could have been unintentional or "non-homophobic," Penn flatly stated, "Nope."

"Nope. These things are carefully planned & worded with purpose (& with White House senior staff sign off). Nice job @IvankaTrump!" Penn wrote on Twitter.

Nope. These things are carefully planned & worded with purpose (& with White House senior staff sign off). Nice job @IvankaTrump! https://t.co/UtERfly8VE

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White House neglects one name in photo of NATO spouses - The Hill (blog)

Republicans who served in previous administrations were taken aback by President Trump's approach to NATO, with a former National Intelligence director and a former GOP senator on Sunday expressing "disappointment" and warning the president "overplayed his hand" in meetings over the weekend.

John Negroponte, who served as the first Director of National Intelligence under President George W. Bush, criticized President Trump's meeting with NATO leaders, calling it a "disappointment."

"He didn't come out with an absolutely categorical commitment to the security of the NATO countries an attack on one is an attack on all under Article 5 of the NATO charter," Negroponte told radio host John Catsimatidis. "So I think that was a disappointment. It was to me. I'm sure it was to the Europeans."

Trump berated NATO leaders on Thursday, telling them that their countries would have to amp up defense spending to meet their obligations under NATO. The organization agreed in 2014 that each country should aim to spend two percent of its GDP on defense by 2024.

Trump has frequently argued that the U.S. is shouldering an unfair burden with NATO and, as a presidential candidate, called the alliance "obsolete," though he pivoted away from that position last month.

Nevertheless, in his speech to NATO leaders, Trump did not commit to the mutual defense principle the notion that an attack on one NATO ally is an attack on all.

"Stress the friendship, stress the relationship, stress the commitment to each other's security, but also make the point, which has been made over the years that everybody should pay their fair share," Negroponte said. "I think it was a question of emphasis and I think he got the emphasis wrong."

Former Sen. Al D'Amato (R-N.Y.), also speaking to Catsimatidis, was softer in his criticism of Trump's approach to NATO, but said that the president may have been too forthright in his pressure on treaty members.

"I don't know if the president should have been as public in his chastising of the NATO members. There's a way to do it," D'Amato told Catsimatidis. "It was pretty strong; I guess he feels strongly about it."

"And certainly they have to meet their financial obligations if we're going to maintain our presence, our strength and the billions of dollars we spend tens of billions of dollars annually supporting NATO."

He added, "The second part [of the trip] was not nearly as strong as it could have been It was almost too strong in terms of demands the President made. You can make those demands in private. You don't have to do it publicly. That just embarrasses people, and it gets people angry. I think he overplayed his hand."

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Former GOP officials criticize Trump's NATO approach - The Hill (blog)

TAORMINA, Italy U.S. National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster said on Saturday that "of course" President Donald Trump backed NATO's mutual defense doctrine, despite not making an explicit reference to it during a visit to Brussels this week.

Speaking at NATO headquarters earlier this week, Trump disappointed allies by not mentioning his support for Article 5, which states that an attack on one member of the alliance is viewed as an attack on all.

During his election campaign, Trump appeared to called Article 5 into question by suggesting that NATO members who did not pay their fair share for the alliance may not deserve to benefit from it.

"I think it's extraordinary that there would be an expectation that the president would have to say explicitly that he supports Article 5. Of course he does," McMaster told reporters at the end of a Group of Seven summit in Sicily.

"He did not make a decision not to say it," McMaster continued. "It was implicit in the speech. There was no decision to not put it in there. It is a matter of fact that the United States, the president, stands firmly behind our Article 5 commitments under NATO."

(Reporting by Noah Barkin; Editing by Crispian Balmer)

BEIJING Profits earned by Chinese industrial firms rose 14.0 percent in April from a year earlier, official data showed on Saturday, slowing from March's pace and adding to concerns that the world's second-largest economy may be losing steam.

BEIJING China is determined to open its market and is positive about promoting talks on a China-EU investment agreement, a senior Chinese official said on Saturday ahead of Premier Li Keqiang's visit to Brussels for a summit with the European Union.

NEW YORK U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission chief Jay Clayton is expected to name Steven Peikin, a partner from his former law firm, to help lead enforcement at the agency, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters.

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McMaster says 'of course' Trump supports NATO Article 5 - Reuters