DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Palus Politicus NATO

NATO boss lauds Trump’s leadership on Ukraine, tells Europe: ‘Get your act together’

The head of NATO on Monday praised President Trump for taking the initiative to pursue an end to the Ukraine war — and knocked Europe for “complaining” instead of getting its “act together.”

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, 58, who has been dubbed the “Trump whisperer,” emphasized the importance of American leadership to ending Russia’s war on Ukraine and suggested that European countries are beginning to step up because of it.

“I have great trust in the American team conducting those talks. Ukraine will be part of those talks, no doubt,” Rutte told Fox News’ “The Story.”

“Europe wants to have a place at the table. Well, I told them, fight yourself a way to the table by coming up with concrete proposals. That is now happening,” he said.

“I absolutely reject that criticism of President Trump’s initiative. I think it is only right that he tries to end this war, and we need American leadership here.”

NATO allies and the European Union huddled at the Munich Security Conference in Germany over the weekend to discuss pressing foreign policy issues, including Trump’s push to end the war in Ukraine.

Rutte, a former Dutch prime minister who took the reins of NATO last year, noted Europe’s concern that it won’t have a “seat at the table” during negotiations.

“What I said to the Europeans in Munich at this famous security conference the last couple of days was, ‘Stop complaining, start acting, get your act together,’ ” Rutte said.

Trump revealed last week that he had separate calls with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian leader Vladimir Putin about ending the war, which is set to mark its three-year anniversary next Monday.

He indicated that US officials would meet with their Russian counterparts in Saudi Arabia this week to discuss a path toward ending the bloodshed. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has already touched down in Saudi Arabia for those talks.

“Last week, I was a bit disappointed that Europeans were saying, ‘Hey, we also have to be at the table,’ and, ‘Why are we not there?’ ” Rutte said. “Now [they are] really starting to dialogue, to strategize how they can support the peace effort.”

Right now, officials are working to hammer out some of the details to a potential peace pact, “including if the US does not have boots on the ground, what will security guarantees look like,” Rutte said.

Trump has tapped retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg as his special envoy for Ukraine and Russia to oversee negotiations.

Last week, he dispatched Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to meet with Zelensky and push for American access to Kyiv’s vast mineral reserves — an idea the Ukrainian leader claims he pitched to Trump during their meeting in September.

Ukraine’s mineral resources would be used to help foot the bill for US military aid to the war-torn ally half a world away. But Ukrainian leaders have rejected Trump’s push for half of their country’s reserves.

The president told reporters over the weekend that he believes Putin “wants to stop” the war and does not intend to seize all of Ukraine.

“That was my question to him, because if he’s going to go on, that would have been a big problem for us,” he said. “Because you just can’t let that happen. I think he wants to end it. And they want to end it fast, both of them.”

During the Munich Security Conference gathering over the weekend, Vice President JD Vance took scathing digs at Europe, accusing its leaders of eroding free speech in their countries and failing to pull their own weight to shore up freedom across the globe.

“The threat that I worry most about vis-a-vis Europe is not Russia, not China, it’s not any other external actor. What I worry about is the threat from within, the retreat of Europe from some of its most fundamental values,” Vance told European leaders Friday.

In Warsaw, Poland, last week, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth similarly put the US’s European allies on notice.

“What happens five, 10, 15 years from now is part of a larger discussion that reflects the threat level, America’s posture, our needs around the globe, but most importantly, the capability of European countries to step up,” Hegseth said.

“That’s why our message is so stark to our European allies — now is the time to invest because you can’t make an assumption that America’s presence will last forever.”

Koolaid.

This is conservative Americans version of Brexit.

Hegseth drinking on the job again. Donny boy creaming his jeans while signaling to Putin. He knows damn well they can’t go to 5% GDP without significant pain, he’ll use their failure as a reason to pull us out of NATO. Man I hate these people.

Far as i know all members are also over 2%. If its not all members then its a tiny tiny minority that arent over 2%.

Interestingly with regard to aid to Ukraine, i noticed that the USA has given the most military aid ... I was wondering who determines the value of that military aid. So for example, is the total based on full sticker price while normally a discount would be offered to bulk purchases??? And if military aid is 100% US made ordnance etc ... Then theres a solid argument to indicate that through aid we are also supporting US manufacturers and arms companies. In economics you have a multiplier affect.... Does any of that get considered when we talk about how much aid we've given?

Or you just enjoy paying the bill for others!!! NATO is supposed to be a partnership, and everyone should pay the same price. Why should the United States pay most of the money?

NATO members agree to spend 2% GDP on defense.

Of 30 nations all but 8 spend 2% or more.

Ok you do enjoy paying for others bills. I understand now. I just disagree.

Truptards are gone trumptard. I cant help you .....

That's what people like you said about WW2. Until of course Germany and Japan joined forces and attacked Pearl Harbor. You have obviously failed to study history and how this all works. Hopefully people that aren't so quite naive will prevail.

I'll be honest, I was kinda shocked at how little (as a % of GDP) that Germany pays towards defense (per WIKI).

why? There's a good reason the rest of Europe is happy they kept the spending that low up until this point....

See, you dont have an argument so you are gaslighting.

The agreed spending with in nato is 2%. If the USA decides to spend 5% thats not on anyone but the USA .... I forget the numbers exactly..... But when the USA spends more than the next 17 countries in the globe combined, including China ..... Do you think thats to keep us safe or is it lobbyists and fat cats getting fatter? Hell why not spend 10%?

With the pullout from Afghanistan, the US was poised to take a less aggressive (and therefore, less expensive) approach to keeping order throughout the world.

Part of the whole point of NATO is all member nations sharing an equitable portion of the burden of security. Germany (as of 2022 or something) spending less than 2% of its GDP is pretty shocking, IMO. They did pledge that they'd put a larger portion towards defense after the invasion (and I don't know if the numbers listed on WIKI reflect that), but I think it's perfectly fair to question why certain European countries aren't doing more to ensure European stability.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/7/11/how-much-does-each-nato-country-spend-in-2024

Ok... I dropped a new link with data from 2024. Many countries did jump above the 2% mark which is new info for me. That said, I feel my point still stands. US will always be the biggest spender in terms of total dollars, but certain countries (Germany, France) just barely clearing the 2% minimum despite being on the doorstep of a current conflict is a REALLY weak look. While I don't agree with Trump's methods nor do I trust his intentions in terms of handling Russia, I do agree with the point of the US having to spend to make up for European leadership's reluctance to spend.

I look at it slightly differently ... Agree 100% all Nato members must spend the 2% and be held accountable if not doing so. However i dont believe the US spends more or less as a result of what others in Nato donor don't spend.

Edit. Point of fact i think in a "say something positive about trump" first term thread i think i pointed to this issue.

The US spends a whole percentage point more than Germany, France, and the UK. I don't think it's unreasonable to demand that they be more invested in stabilizing their backyard.

2% is the agreed amount they are supposed to spend as per an agreement in 2014. Those who aren't contributing 2% should be held accountable but over the past few years many of them have stepped up to meet those requirements.

WW1 ended on November 11, 1918. Less than 21 years later on September 1, 1939, WW2 began. Germany was defeated in World War II on May 7, 1945 and Japan fell on Sept. 2, 1945. Almost 80 years later there has yet to be another world war.

Leave it to a band of idiots to badmouth what has worked so well for so long. Like I said, history has taught them nothing.