During an interview with CBS News on Thursday, U.S. Ambassador to NATO Julianne Smith stated that Presidents Obama, Trump, and Biden have all “pushed” NATO members to boost their defense spending to 2% of GDP and Trump does deserve “credit” for the increase in NATO members meeting the defense spending target and that having members meet their obligations “is ultimately good for the United States and good for our allies.”
Smith said, “What we decided ten years ago is that every member of this alliance should spend 2% of their own GDP on their own defense. And by investing in their own defense, it ultimately makes the alliance stronger, because we have better forces, better capabilities, and the ability to support one another for any threat that we might face. … [W]e started with just three allies in the alliance spending 2%, and this year, we’re going to be somewhere between 18 and 20 allies spending 2%. So, that’s a huge leap. I credit three U.S. Presidents: President Obama, President Trump, President Biden, they’ve all pushed on this. And now, we have two-thirds of the alliance spending what they need. We still have work to do. We’re going to get those other allies across the line in the next couple of years. Everybody has a plan in place, but, ultimately, the bottom line is, a stronger NATO means that it can help protect America’s interests, and it can help protect the interests of our allies. So, an alliance that is spending more is ultimately good for the United States and good for our allies.”
Later, Smith stated, “In terms of some of the rhetoric we’ve heard out on the campaign trail in the United States, what I will say is encouraging the Kremlin to attack NATO allies is absolutely irresponsible and irrational, but it’s also dangerous. It puts the lives of U.S. troops at risk, and it puts the lives of allied soldiers at risk.”
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett
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