(07-13-2018, 02:36 PM)mikesez Wrote:

(07-13-2018, 12:11 PM)Byron LeftTown Wrote: Trump revealed his negotiating style in a best-selling book many years ago.  Yet many are surprised and even shocked every time he does it.

NATO allies each supposedly committed to increasing their defense spending to 2% of GDP by 2024.  The US spends 3.6%, but the US operates in Southeast Asia and the Middle East - while most NATO allies just face Russia.

A valid negotiating tactic would be something like, "I want 2% by 2020 now.  Four years sooner."  or "No, it's got to be 2.4% now.  2% isn't going to cut it now."

Saying, "I want 4%" is beyond a negotiating tactic.  It's hypocritical because we spend less than that.
Saying, "You owe us money" is not a negotiating tactic at all.  It's incorrect.  They are supposed to spend the money on themselves.
Saying, "You owe us money for all the past years" is not just incorrect but hysterical.

While unorthodox, it does not mean that tactic is incorrect. It is meant to be hypocritical and call them out. They’ve been riding the US coat tails since we established NATO in 1948/49.

That spending you speak of is on themselves but on behalf of the defense of all member states. Germany couldn’t defend themselves against a wet paper sack at this point. Their military is falling apart and unreliable. How are they to help defend the region or NATO members? The US has been the financial backbone of NATO for quite some time. So, no, stating, “you owe us” would not be an entirely incorrect statement. I think that statement would have been a homerun if Trump plopped down a financial report in the middle of the table at the same time.

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