Wake Up, Europe !! Trump Is not the Enemy, He Is Trying to Help You Prepare for Real Enemies

EARLY POST TODAY -- ALL ABOUT PRESIDENT TRUMP AND EUROPE. President Trump left Washington on Tuesday for his meetings with NATO allies, Queen Elizabeth, and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Before Trump left the US, the Progressive media was all over him about "wrecking" NATO and other catastrophes dreamt up by the crazed ProgDems. And, of course, they were full of advice for the President. TheHill's Rebecca Kheel saw five things to watch for -- why is it always five things with the MSM? Anyway, Kheel wrote on Sunday : "President Trump will arrive in Brussels on Tuesday night with an eye toward pushing allied members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) to boost their defense budgets. Despite Trump's push, the heads-of-state confab risks being overshadowed by growing tensions between the US President and European allies, Trump's policies outside of NATO and his summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, which is scheduled to take place days later. US ambassador to NATO Kay Bailey Hutchison told reporters last week that the theme of this year's summit will be 'strength and unity.' And while NATO’s secretary-general noted that the alliance has survived past disputes, he has acknowledged growing divisions among allies." Kheel notes the testy G-7 meeting in Canada in June, and said "NATO watchers are hoping leaders put on a happy face in Brussels and get through the meeting without any major incidents." Then, Kheel got doan to her FIVE THINGS. §§ First on her list -- Do Trump and other leaders get along? Kheel says : "Greater burden sharing is a refrain that Trump has sounded since his 2016 campaign. But he’s upped the pressure recently, sending letters to Merkel, Trudeau and other NATO leaders suggesting the possibility of a change in US military posture if they don’t increase their defense spending. Just eight of NATO's 29 members meet or are expected to meet this year the alliance’s goal of spending 2 percent of their gross domestic product on defense : the United States, United Kingdom, Greece, Poland, Latvia, Estonia, Romania and Lithuania. The goal was set at the 2014 Wales summit [under Prsident Obama], where allies agreed to meet the target by 2024. Despite growing animosity between Trump and other NATO leaders, experts are expecting allies to continue a four-year trend of upward spending because allies have realized they need to spend more independently of the US. 'The Europeans are starting to recognize that they may have to think about what it may look like without the United States there for them,' said James Goldgeier, a professor of international relations at American University. §§ Second -- Will counterterrorism be a focus? Kheel says : "This year, Hutchison told reporters that counterterrorism will again be a priority for Trump at the summit. In line with that, allies are expected to officially launch NATO’s bigger training mission in Iraq to help stabilize the country post-ISIS. Hutchinson also said Trump will continue to make the case for allies to extend their commitment to Afghanistan, following his announcement of a new strategy last summer that is based on conditions on the ground instead of timelines." §§ Third -- Is Putin the elephant in the room? According to Kheel : "Now, days after Trump meets with NATO leaders, he will head to Helsinki, Finland, for a summit with Putin. That summit is expected to kick off with a one-on-one meeting between Trump and Putin. NATO was founded as a buttress against the Soviet Union and has shifted its focus back to Russia after its incursion in Ukraine. In the call with reporters, Hutchison said that NATO’s 'strengthened deterrence and defense' is needed in light of the 'the malign activities of Russia.' But allies are nervous about Trump being in a room alone with Putin and what concessions he might make in an effort to forge a deal, such as whether he will recognize Russia’s claim over Crimea. Trump has left the door open to doing so, saying 'we're going to have to see.' Allies are also worried about Trump unilaterally scuttling military exercises in Europe. Trump decided to cancel joint military exercises with South Korea during his summit with Kim last month. In doing so, Trump labeled the exercises 'provocative,' an argument Putin has made against NATO exercises in Eastern Europe." §§ Fourth -- Do non-NATO issues spoil the mood? Kheel says allies are "rankled about Trump’s comments on spending and military posture, much of the strain in US relations with allies has come from issues technically outside the scope of NATO. That includes Trump’s 25% tariffs on imported steel and 10% tariffs on imported aluminum from the European Union and Canada, as well as Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Iran nuclear agreement and Paris climate accord against allies’ wishes." But, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said those represent “serious disagreements” among allies. He also warned in a Guardian op-ed weeks later that “nowhere is it written in stone that the transatlantic bond will always thrive.” But he’s also said NATO can continue with its “core tasks” in spite of the divisions. “We have to remember that we have seen differences before, all the way back to the 1950s where NATO allies disagreed on the Suez crisis or when France decided to leave the command structure in the 1960s or the Iraq War in 2003,” Stoltenberg said. “So it’s nothing new that there are difference between NATO allies, and what we have seen again and again is that we have been able to unite around NATO’s core task to protect and defend each other despite those difference.” • Well, Kheel ran out of steam after Four -- so we'll never know what Number Five was. • • • TRUMP LANDS ON HIS FEET IN BRUSSELS. President Trump was barely off Air Force One when he had a Wednesday breakfast meeting with America's NATO allies. American Thinker's Tiberiu Dianu reported this : "What I just watched on Fox News (FNC) live after 3:00am EDT (9:00am Brussels time) this morning (Wednesday, July 11, 2018) at the NATO Summit breakfast in Brussels, was both surreal and fascinating. President Trump wasted no time in repeating his demands for European allies (and Canada) to spend more on defense, saying they should do so immediately. He opened his appearance at the breakfast with an attack on Germany, saying its gas deals with Moscow made it a 'captive to Russia. Germany is captive of Russia because it is getting so much of its energy from Russia,' Trump said, referring to Berlin’s deal for the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline [it will bypass the Baltic states, Poland and Ukraine and deliver gas directly to Germany]. 'Everybody’s talking about it all over the world, they’re saying we’re paying you billions of dollars to protect you, but you’re paying billions of dollars to Russia,' emphasized the President. He added that 'Germany is totally controlled by Russia.' ” The second lambast delivered by Trump was about NATO member arrears in their 'Dues' : “On the top of that, Germany is just paying a little bit over of 1%, whereas the United States, in actual numbers, is paying 4.2% of a much larger GDP. So, I think that’s inappropriate also. We’re protecting Germany, we’re protecting France, we’re protecting everybody, and yet we’re paying a lot of money to protect. Now, this has been going on for decades. This has been brought up by other presidents, but other presidents didn’t do anything about it, because I don’t think they understood it or they just didn’t want to get involved....But I have to bring it up because I think it’s very unfair for our country, it’s very unfair to our taxpayers...I don’t think it’s fair to the United States. So, we’re going to have to do something because we’re not going to put up with it, we cannot put up with it, and it’s inappropriate.” Dianu said : "NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg was caught off-guard and he pushed back softly, stressing that NATO members have been able to 'work together despite their differences.' Trump lashed back : 'But how can you be together when a country is getting its energy from the person you want protection against or from the group that you want protection? You’re just making Russia richer...Explain that!' ” • Before the breakfast meeting, President Trump told reporters that the situation is “not fair to the taxpayers of the United States, but we will make it fair....They will spend more. I have great confidence they’ll be spending more.” You can watch the video of the breakfast confrontation at : < https://youtu.be/QqjJvveODKM >. • Dianu says : "President Donald Trump exposed in a spectacular way, in front of millions of home viewers, how the Europeans milk money from the United States for 'protection against Russia,' while they give millions of dollars for getting supplied with oil and gas from the same, supposedly 'enemy,' country. Trump is not the first U.S. president who brings this up to the European allies. But he will be the first U.S. president who will definitely do something to fix this decade-long anomaly." • American Thinker editor Thomas Lifson put it this way : "Trump's critics that contend he is in Putin's pocket have some explaining to do how this fits into their conspiracy theory. Other than energy exports, Russia produces almost nothing competitive on world markets. That is Putin's economic jugular vein, and Trump is placing a knife on it with this pressure on Europe." • An analyst advised China last week that it is dangerous to go "mano-a-mano with Trump on trade." If that is true for China, how much more it is true for Europe. • • • DOES TRUMP WANT TO DESTROY NATO? -- NO, ONLY ITS EU MEMBERS' DANGEROUS SILLINESS. A Washington Post headline blares, "Trump is bent on wrecking NATO. Prepare for catastrophe." The Post fears that President Trump's diplomacy will benefit Vladimir Putin to the detriment of American and European interests. European Council president Donald Tusk sniped, "Dear America, appreciate your allies. After all, you don't have that many." • But Shoshana Bryen wrote on Wednesday in American Thinker : "The NATO countries are, indeed, among America's closest allies, but some of them appear more interested in oil, natural gas, and trade with Iran than in the Fulda Gap [the Fulda Gap, like the North German Plain and Hof Corridor, became code for World War III; along the Demilitarized Zone between North and South Korea, the Fulda Gap (the Gap) between West and East Germany was the demarcation between East and West]." Bryen says : "Some of our 'closest allies' have been working overtime to undermine America. If Mr. Trump is irritated with them, there is a reason. Iran is preparing to take $300 million in cash out of German banks to get ahead of impending US banking sanctions. While American intelligence officials are concerned that the money will finance terrorism, the German government says it has 'no evidence' to that effect. According to the German newspaper Bild, 'Iran...says that they need the money 'to pass it on to Iranian individuals who, when travelling abroad, are dependent on euros in cash due to their lack of access to accepted credit cards.' The German government appears to think that one million Iranian tourists might need $300 each -- or perhaps 300 tourists might need $1 million each." • The plan to send hard cash to Teheran is in line with EU negotiations, led by Germany and France, to help Iran mitigate the economic fallout of the US withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal. Bryen says : "The EU has also begun to update its 'blocking statute,' the rule that will prevent European companies from complying with impending Iran sanctions. Germany is willing to run a multi-billion-euro trade deficit with Iran to keep the doors open, even as a 2018 German intelligence report confirms that Iran is currently seeking nuclear technology....It is unclear why America's 'closest allies' want to help the regime that sponsors Hamas and Hezbollah, created a mercenary army of tens of thousands of Shiites to uproot the mostly Sunni population of Syria, sentences a women who doffed her head scarf to 20 years in prison (she will serve at least two years, likely more), bans homosexuality and hangs gay people from cranes in public -- and is, in fact, behind only China in the number of executions it conducts annually -- and imprisons foreign nationals. And that's before mentioning that Iran cheated on the JCPOA by hiding the military nature of its program and violated UN Security Council resolutions on ballistic missile development and the import and export of weapons." • But, says Bryen, all that may be : "irrelevant. Iranian president Hassan Rouhani went back to Iran in a snit because, he said, 'The package from Europe does not meet all our demands.' Iran makes 'demands' on America's 'closest allies,' and the allies consider [complying with] them ? Yes. The fact is that NATO was designed to defend Europe from Russia, so perhaps NATO interests should be more closely aligned on the subject of an increasingly bellicose and aggressive Vladimir Putin instead of buying his gas and providing cash for his coffers. • And, while the EU allies are considering Trump's demand that they pay for their own protection, they might want to take time to consider two other items. CNS News reported last week that while Iran’s foreign minister was meeting with five foreign counterparts in Vienna in a bid to preserve the 2015 nuclear deal following President Trump’s recent withdrawal, there were reports of an Iranian terror plotting on European soil. Bryen states : "Iran is now engaged in disputes with two of the countries represented at the talks, Germany and France, over the arrest of an Iranian diplomat in Germany in connection with an alleged plot to bomb an exiled Iranian opposition movement’s rally in France...Asadollah Assadi was detained in Bavaria...and looks set to be extradited to Belgium where investigators have an Iranian-origin married couple in custody, suspected of planning to bomb the 'Free Iran' rally near Paris, organized by the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI)/People’s Mujahedeen Organization of Iran (MEK). A fourth suspect, an Iranian arrested in France, may also be extradited to Belgium, according to wire service reports. Adding to the political sensitivities raised by the case, the detained ambassador is accredited to the Iranian Embassy in Vienna, the city hosting Friday’s talks between Foreign Minister Javad Zarif and foreign ministers from the remaining Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) partners -- France, Germany, Britain, China and Russia." The Iranian regime denies the plot against a reviled group it has long sought to eliminate. Zarif has called it a “false flag” operation and his ministry has accused enemies of trying to undermine Teheran’s diplomacy in Europe. Iran's foreign ministry says the couple arrested in Belgium with 500 grams (almost 2 lbs) of explosive and an ignition mechanism hidden in their car are linked to the NCRI/MEK, calling the alleged plot a “pre-planned scenario orchestrated by the terrorist group.” Question -- Does that also make Assadi, the detained diplomat, an NCRI/MEK member or sympathizer. For its part, the NCRI claims that Assadi -- who is listed by Austria’s foreign ministry as a “third counselor” at the Iranian Embassy -- has been “the head of the Iranian regime’s intelligence station at the regime’s embassy in Vienna since 2014.” And Belgium’s De Standaard newspaper, citing security sources, said the detained couple are suspected of being regime sleeper agents who infiltrated the NCRI/MEK. Ahead of the Vienna talks, President Hassan Rouhani spoke by phone to both French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Bryen says the Iranian foreign ministry reports that : "He urged the European leaders to ensure that Iran is offered a clear program and specific timetable to “compensate” for the US pullout from the nuclear agreement. 'After US’ withdrawal from the JCPOA, economic issues and problems in banking relations and oil have been created and companies that have invested in Iran are skeptical about continuing their activities in Iran,' the ministry quoted Rouhani as telling Merkel. It said he also described as 'disappointing' current proposals by the Europeans on how they intend to live up to their commitments under the JCPOA. Zarif tweeted that he expected in Friday’s meetings to secure 'verifiable & actionable commitments rather than lofty & obscure promises' from the remaining JCPOA partners....Israeli Prime Minister Binjamin Netanyahu implored EU governments to change their approach to Iran : 'This week there was an example of Iran’s boundless hypocrisy and brazen gall. This week the president of Iran met with leaders in Europe in order to try and overcome President Trump's sanctions regime -- and I tell you that this attempt will fail -- even as Iran planned a terrorist attack on French soil in Europe. It was no coincidence that this attack was thwarted. I call on the leaders of Europe: Stop financing the terrorist regime that is financing terrorism against you on your soil. Enough with the policy of appeasement and weakness regarding Iran.' ” • But, Europe is chiefly concerned about counteracting the reimposition of US sanctions that will significantly impact companies in Europe and elsewhere which are doing, or planned to do, business with Iran. The Trump administration plans to restore some sanctions (including those relating to gold and other metals and the automotive sector) on August 6 and others (energy and banking) by November 4. And, the US wants all countries to stop buying Iranian crude oil. • And, if Europe's dangerous game with Iran were not enough, it has another threat -- this one coming from Russia. Fox News reported on Sunday that : "The British woman who was recently poisoned by the same nerve agent that almost killed a Russian spy and his daughter earlier this year has died....Dawn Sturgess, 44, died more than a week after authorities believe she was exposed to Novichok -- the agent that poisoned Sergei Skripal and Yulia Skripal in March....Authorities confirmed on Wednesday that both Sturgess and Rowley were exposed to Novichok. Police suspect the couple was exposed through a contaminated item left over from the attack on the Skripals, which Britain blames on Russia. Russia has denied the allegation....More than 100 police officers have been working to locate the container that held the nerve agent. Officials have said the search and cleanup operation could take weeks or a month. Experts say just a few milligrams of the odorless Novichok liquid -- the weight of a snowflake -- is enough to kill a person within minutes. But finding residue before it poisons unwitting victims is the problem." • Question -- Is it only the UK that is the target of Russian nerve gas, or will the attacks spread to other European countries? • Germany's defense minister, on a visit to the Pentagon earlier this year, said Germany may get to 1.5% of GDP spending for defense in 2026. Such silliness from European NATO allies could be brushed aside were it not so serious. The world is awash with islamist terrorist plots and Iranian state-sponsored terrorism that is inching into Europe from the Middle East. And, we have no real idea where Russia and Putin stand in all this. Does Pution merely want to be taken back into the Great Powers family, or does he have more sinister plans for Europe. We just do not know. And, in this troubling state of affairs, it would be much better for Europe to join the US in its efforts to contain and destroy all these bad actors, instead of buying their natural gas and sending them cash. • We remember how upset our European allies were by Russian meddling in Ukraine and the conquest and annexation of Crimea? They tossed Russia out of the G-7 and imposed sanctions on Russian oligarchs and companies -- though not on Putin himself. Then, says American Thinker's Tiberiu Dianu : "when Russia tried abruptly to cancel its gas transit contracts with Ukraine and Poland, Ukraine won its case to retain the shipping rights -- and the associated fees -- in the international arbitration court in Sweden. So, of course, Germany, et al. sided with Ukraine, which needs the fees in part to continue to resist Russian-inspired aggression. Right? No. Germany sided with Russia against Ukraine -- offering to 'mediate' between the invader and the invaded. • • • WHAT NEXT FOR EUROPE? Tiberiu Dianu notes with great clarity : "How much political influence will Russia have in Germany and other European countries when the thermometer dips next winter? How will our 'closest allies' respond to Russian pressure? A flashback from 2012 might be instructive : 'Obama: On all these issues, but particularly missile defense, this, this can be solved, but it's important for him [Putin] to give me space. Medvedev: Yeah, I understand. I understand your message about space. Space for you...Obama: This is my last election. After my election, I have more flexibility. Medvedev: I understand. I will transmit this information to Vladimir.' Our European allies offered not a word of criticism. Now, six years later, who is actually 'wrecking NATO'? Who is actually 'colluding' with Russia? Who is actually weakening the Atlantic Alliance? Who is actually supporting Iran today -- which threatens the United States (and Israel) directly and Europe by extension? Hint : It is not Mr. Trump." So, while German Chancellor Merkel recently told President Trump that the EU will make every effort to avoid a trade war with the United States, and underlined her country’s commitment to raise defense spending gradually, she added that the good functioning of the world economy depends on countries working together as partners, and also questioned the value of measuring surpluses and deficits by trade in goods alone. If digital services were included, she said, it’s likely that the US would have a trade surplus with Europe. And, in a message meant for German voters, already out of sorts with their Chancellor, Merkel said “we can’t act as though the issue of defense weren’t a pressing one in our time.” • America can defend itself. Europe cannot. That is the blunt truth. The other blunt truth is that the US economy can go it alone without missing a step. European economies cannot. Last week, we learned from Breitbart that : "Yet there are few signs that the [steel and aluminum] tariffs are having a negative effect on America’s metal using industries. In fact, American businesses that make the most use of metals are adding jobs at a rate that is four times as fast as the broader economy, according to data from the Department of Labor. The fabricated metals sector -- where workers transform metal into intermediate or end products other than machinery, computers and electronics, and metal furniture -- added jobs in March, April, May and June. Over that period, employment in fabricated metals grew by 1%, compared with just an 0.25% growth in the broader economy. In June alone, fabricated metals added 7,000 jobs. Machinery manufacturing added jobs in each of the four months since the announcement, including 5,000 in June. Employment in the sector grew by a whopping 1.7%. Transportation manufacturing, the sector that includes automakers and aerospace, added jobs in March, April, and June. During the period it grew by 15,000 jobs, or 0.9%. It is possible that the businesses hiring these workers are feeling their profits squeezed by tariffs. But the workers in these industries are seeing job opportunities grow rapidly. Wages for the workers are rising as well. The hourly wage for non- supervisory workers in machinery manufacturing and fabricated metals rose by around 0.8% between March and June, an annualized rate of 2.4%. Wages in transportation rose 0.7%, for an annualized gain of 2.1%." • Bringing basic industry home to America can work. It is already beginning to work in the metals fabrication sector. So, if Europe thinks it can pressure the US to surrender to an unfair tariff regime, it should study the results of Trump's first effort. • • • DEAR READERS, why Europe would expect the US to support its defense forever is a mystery. And, why the same Europe thinks it is owed a subsidy for its industrial trade sector long past the period when it was needed to salvage Europe from the devastation of WWII is another mystery. President Trump told a rally in Montana last week : "They kill us on trade. They kill us on other things....They kill us with NATO. They kill us." • Perhaps it is past time for Europe to consider a real catastrophe -- an invasion from the Middle East or Russia. Axios writes : "Russia isn't just annoyed at all the land it lost in the outrageously bad deal it got in the wake of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics' breakup in 1991-1992. It's still pretty mad about all the tsarist empire it lost, too, and sometimes President Vladimir Putin waxes nostalgic for getting that stuff back. This being Putin, he probably wants to best the tsars anyway. That should be what concentrates Europe's minds and incentivizes these wealthy states to honor their defense commitments. Instead, they are hollering about Trump and demanding more of the free ride they've always gotten. It's amazing how they can imagine that the blame for this situation is on Trump....Maybe it's time for these childish partners to learn a few things about honoring contracts. Their outrage is the result of their own bad choices." • US Ambassador to NATO Kay Bailey Hutchison said on Sunday that President Trump is having an “impact” on our European allies causing them to increase defense spending : “NATO is really is making progress and they are doing it really at President Trump’s insistence. I think it is very clear and he has been very direct about the Europeans needing to do more for their own security. I’ve worked for three presidents, all of whom have said the same thing. Now, I think for the first time, we are really seeing the Europeans actually start going in the same direction. Every ally is now increasing defense spending -- we’ve had the largest increase in defense spending since the Cold War. I think he’s making an impact, and I think that the Europeans, including Chancellor Angela Merkel, have said ‘We are going to do more. We need to do more, we are going to do more -- it’s the right thing to do.' ” • The best advice America can give Europe and NATO is to get on with it. Stop the fussing and whining and act like the adult partners the US needs in the fight against terrorism and tyranny. It will be too late for any sort of self-help after the first real attack on European soil occurs. President Trump is trying to help you. Wake up, Europe !!!