NATO - another failed opportunity

NATO – another failed opportunity

Many of us have experienced an organization or club where there is a suggested level of giving to join but the actual amount you give is up to you.  These clubs recognize the importance of membership for both the club and the individual members alike, while realizing that not everyone has the same financial abilities.  Some, of course, will do as little as possible.  But, most are like me, I believe, which is why these clubs succeed.  As an example, one particular club that I donate to has suggested levels of membership and I plan to increase my donation commensurate with paying off student loans among other factors.  This is analogous to how NATO functions.  Without question, it’s obviously a very important organization for the countries involved.  They suggest that member nations target 2% of their GDP for defense spending.  Some nations fall short of this goal but have set it as a target to reach in the future, while the United States, however, spends 3.6% of GDP on defense.

So, one of the very few things that I had been able to support the President on so far was his attempt to encourage other countries to take up more of the responsibility for the funding of NATO.  Well, so much for that.  He once again showed his ineptitude and likely destroyed what gains he had made in this area by playing a heavy hand instead of taking a more positive approach and, much worse, not understanding or knowing how NATO actually functions.  When he made the ridiculous comments about Germany owing NATO money for years of not meeting the 2% GDP, he once again was wrong and lost what credibility he had.  That’s like saying that the people that don’t/can’t give the suggested amount to visit the American Museum of Natural History in New York still owe the remainder of the suggested price afterwards.  To make matters worse, his approach and comments simply upset the other nations and make it harder for them to want to do what he suggests.  It’s simple psychology.

This also feeds into another frustration of mine.  Some people argue that the president’s character and past don’t matter if he attempts to get things done.  Well, you now have a man who has bragged about being ‘smart’ by using all available loopholes to pay as little taxes as possible trying to convince nations that they should increase their funding on a suggested payment amount.  There’s some irony there, no?  And, that’s beside his poor tactics and outright falsehoods.  This embarrassment would normally be a much larger story in any other year but has, sadly yet understandably, gotten relatively little attention with all of the other craziness going on with this administration.

So, instead of something I can get behind, I’m now left with yet another issue in which this administration has managed to disappoint.