LYSEKIL, Sweden — You can't see the Russian bear from here, but you can hear its growl.
You also can hear the screech of the American eagle, because the Donald Trump effect has reached Scandinavia.
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(1) comment
The author continues his biased interpretation of history. It is becoming a bit tiresome.
Today, he seems to argue that increased NATO spending by most members has nothing to do with Trump’s rhetoric, and his willingness to float our commitment to NATO members who don’t meet their commitments to minimum military spending pledges is somehow wrong. I guess America should just continue to bear the majority of the expense regardless. That was fine for presidents of both parties for years, but now that Trump has ended that game, he is somehow at fault.
It is a fact that Ukraine and NATO would have been worse off had Trump not insisted on increased military spending. Canada’s current 1.3 percent spent on defense is clearly them taking advantage of us. So it’s no “trope” that this must change, and pronto.
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