US Presidential Candidate Donald Trump has escalated his promise to disrupt the political establishment to a new level. Nothing, it seems, is sacred. Not even the US’s 66 year old commitment to NATO, the military alliance between 28 nations created soon after World War Two to protect the West from possible Russian aggression. Maybe Trump is bluffing. Then again maybe not. But his statement that under his direction the Western World’s leader would not automatically jump to their defence will send shockwaves through NATO’s three increasingly nervous Baltic members (Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia). Russia has been massing troops along its western border in the biggest build-up in decades. That triggered former NATO deputy commander General Alexander Shirreff to predict Putin intends invading the Baltic States. Trump says if that were to happen, he may keep Americans away from any resulting conflict. As if global investors didn’t have enough to worry about already. – Alec Hogg
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(Bloomberg) — Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump said the U.S. would only come to the aid of NATO members attacked by Russia after reviewing whether those nations “have fulfilled their obligations to us.”
“In an interview with the New York Times on Wednesday, the billionaire called into question whether he would automatically extend the security guarantees that give the 28 members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization the assurance that they have U.S. military support. He specifically referred to the small Baltic states which share borders with Russia.
Trump’s comments come as President Vladimir Putin oversees the biggest Russian military build up at its western border since the collapse of communism. The Kremlin is spending 20 trillion rubles ($314 billion) on an ambitious defense upgrade through 2020, while NATO has approved plans to deploy four battalions to rotate through the region. The western alliance’s units, however, will still be dwarfed by Russia’s forces on the other side of the border.
The NATO treaty states that an armed attack against any member state in Europe or North America shall be considered an attack against them all, allowing parties to take action such as armed force against the aggressor.
No Lecture
When asked about the recent attempted coup in Turkey, Trump said he would not “lecture” the nation about purges of political adversaries or crackdowns on civil liberties, saying the U.S. had first to “fix our own mess.”
Turkey on Thursday imposed a three-month state of emergency as the government pursues those it sees responsible for the failed takeover that left almost 250 people dead. Thousands of army officers, judges and prosecutors have been detained, and a wider purge is under way that encompasses universities, schools and the civil service. Financial markets have been thrown into turmoil.
He praised Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, giving him credit for seeing off the failed coup. “Some people say that it was staged, you know that,” he said. “I don’t think so.”
“When the world sees how bad the United States is and we start talking about civil liberties, I don’t think we are a very good messenger,” Trump said.
