Whenever President Trump is dealing with NATO issues, there is always
the question of whether Trump is going to praise NATO as the greatest
thing since sliced bread, mock them as a relic of the past, or somehow
manage to do both at once.
Meeting NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Tuesday, Trump played
up the pledges for increased military spending, while pushing for even
more. He also cheered the “great strides” made in Afghanistan militarily by NATO, while terming the war ‘ridiculous.’
Trump is well known to be weary of the Afghan War, and hopeful of making
a negotiated deal with the Taliban to withdraw from the nation. It’s a
good thing this was known beforehand, as he did not elaborate beyond
calling the war “unfortunate” and “ridiculous.”
Stoltenberg praised Trump for his “strong leadership,” while saying that
some nations could disagree on the exact direction of the alliance. The
two also declared their unity on withdrawing the US from the
Intermediate Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty.
Trump: Great Strides Made in ‘Ridiculous’ Afghan War
Praises NATO's promised spending hikes
Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.
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