Is NATO’s Article Five Being Upheld?

NATO suffers from a collective action problem. Since the US guarantees members’ safety, no individual nation has an incentive to build an effective fighting force. NATO would be more effective it included a funding requirement, which, for small nations, could be replaced by a direct subsidy to the American military.

Critics say President Obama is just trying to spin an inevitable outcome; it was so clear most NATO allies would not send combat troops into Afghanistan he came to Strasbourg knowing he woudn’t even make the request.
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I think that is correct we knew from the beginning that it was going to be a hard sell and the outcome was in doubt. It does not however mean that we can afford to minimize the help we have had and are still getting from NATO.

I think the MSM will always cover for Obama’s many gaffes and outright failures.
But most Americans are smart enough to know that and get credible info from another source–like Jake Tapper.

I think Obama and his staff are sneaky and deceptive.
Based on Obama’s win in November I bet they are counting on the majority of Americans to be either naive, too trusting, or just plain stupid.

The irony is that it will not be Wall Street who destroys America, it’s the media – fist helping Obama elected, then fawning all over him, spreading it all over Europe and Asia. It’s a new form of propaganda – one thousand times more dangerous because of the Internet.

Could it be the fact that NATO has NO material interest or gain from the mission in Afghanistan? Let’s face it,honestly, A military does not tread lands where it sees no material or strategic interest or gain. The US is the ONLY one profiting from Afghanistan. We are the ones constructing the oil pipelines from the Caspian through on of the former Soviet yet pro-America states on through Afghanistan and then terminating in Pakistan. So, if we are the ONLY ones to profit from it materially, why would anybody else want to lend a hand in only making sure America gets all the resources?
And trust me, I am far away from the Michael Moore types of the Lefties that blame everything on oil, but I have to wonder that Afghanistan’s strategic and material importance is only beneficial for the USA. Afghanistan also serves a base and checkpoint to keep eye on Iran, wedged in between Iraq and Afghanistan. It keeps an eye on Nuclear Pakistan and even Turbulent India at times. And most important, it keeps an eye on China and Russia. Afghanistan is not a mission to eradicate terror, but to serve as a hegemonic post. In my opinion, as an AMerican that promotes our interests abroad, this is needed and necessary. However, to be fair to NATO, I can see why they do not want to partake in the deal. There is nothing in it for them. Europe is content with co-living and co-prosperation rather than aspiring to be hegemonic and dominating others. We have our philosophy, they have theirs. And so the story goes…

and are called Arrogant and Divisive
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We have been called that for at least as long as I have been alive. One would think that after 60 years, and universal title of the “Ugly American” there might be a little something behind it.
I think the US would be showing weakness by being so damn defensive about it.

Sigmond, Sir
Well, I think NATO saw the nature of the mission in Afghanistan change under Bush. The fact that Karzai, Khalilzdad, and other folks happen to be business partners with Bush&Co showed Europe that this was an entrepreneurial/imperial venture not necessarily for America, but for the few that have access and connections to the “loot”, and this is with no doubt true. All you have to do is connect dots, and read their long history.
Also, must I add, I dont think NATO thinks America as being serious on fighting terror in Afghanistan. The consensus in Europe is when we went to Iraq, we planted the seed for more terror. Right now, we are arming the Gulf Arabs with ridiculous amounts of weapons, we are arming former Insurgents/terrorists in Iraq, and we are trying to play CIA politics in many hot spots, which in turn, has greatly diminished our status as being serious about getting terror over and done with.
To a certain point, there are elements out there that the notion of terror is almost like the idea of the “never ending enemy state” as drawn up in George Orwell’s 1984. As long as there is this infact stateless enemy called terror, an enemy that we can not see, etc, this war will go on and on and on. And not to be naive, but a small lesson from george Orwell can go a long way, in that our instincts are shaped by the fact that If I can not see my enemy, why fight it and wast wealth in trying to fight it blindly in the dark?
Terror is composed of many elements. We can call it Taliban, but then again, we are trying to speak to them, right? Terror could come in the form of the Pakistani Intelligence services, but isnt the CIA working with them? It could come in the form of Hamas or Iran, but arent we speaking to them?
The enemy is not defined, we have failed to define it, and even when we define it, we erase it, redefine it, etc, talk to them, and so on.
So, its a mess. The definition of victory is clouded and foggy, and its going to take alot to make our way through it…

oh hai Jake Tapper!
Why are we still living in the 1950′s anyway?
Putting duct tape on things because we are so afraid of reinventing the wheel? Well we have better technology than the wheel so screw the wheel.

“The trainers that we’re sending in…are no less important than those who are in the south in direct combat with the Taliban,” Mr. Obama said. “Because if we can’t achieve these other goals, then we will put more and more of a burden — an unsustainable burden — on those troops that are conducting direct combat operations.”
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I think if they are so interchangeable, then the NATO allies should be willing to supply more combat troops. There’s a reason they aren’t doing that, and it isn’t because *we* don’t know how to do the training.
President Obama is about to learn that American arrogance isn’t why we don’t get more support.
He’s also about to learn that Bush got called arrogant in part because he was trying to get Europe to do something they didn’t want to do.

Exactly what kaz said, times two! Obama apparenty didn’t properly hedge his bet that $1tril would net more troops. Oops. Get out your unborn grandchildren’s checkbooks.

When Obama was a Senator, he tried to get the US to pull out of Iraq when things were at their toughest. He was against the surge. One of his biggest domestic supporters, MoveOn.org, took out an ad calling our General “General Betrayus”. As Chairman of the subcommittee of the Senate Foreign Relations committee, he never met with the NATO ambassador, never talked to NATO allies about stepping up their actions in Afghanistan.
Perhaps our allies simply don’t take President Obama seriously when it comes to Afghanistan. Perhaps it’s easy to tell him no, knowing he’s said “no” to the US President quite forcefully.

“an attack on one NATO nation is an attack on all of them”
So whoever demolished the WTC with nano-thermite explosives is the enemy of all NATO nations, right?
This is real, people:

There are thousands of anti-NATO protesters in Strausburg, and the protests have gotten violent. It’s much easier for the European leaders to say “no” to the US than face their own angry citizens, isn’t it?

After how badly we have inflamed recruitment of terrorists worldwide by some of our policies and actions, why would these countries want to go charging into Afghanistan after us? I would want to see evidence of some comprehensive changes before I committed troops too.

If anyone can dig it up, there is a terrific “letter to America” by a Canadian citizen that indirectly addresses the supposed “all for one” of NATO. It seems we are supposed to help everyone else out of disasters, wars and tragedies but we are too big to ever ask for or need help ourselves. Remember “foreign aid”?
The last miserable 8 years do not negate the previous decades of help we have given to other nations and governments.

When is Obama going to be impeached?
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As soon as you leave the country and change your citizenship, Obama will no longer be your President!

Incompetence. Plain and simple. The commander-in-chief of American soldiers…men and women who some of us know as neighbors, parents, co-workers, etc are fighting in Afghanistan…and he just said that the ISAF forces are the same. Even our own soldiers know they are not the same…just as they have known going back to Gulf War I. And our President just said these trainers are no less important than our soldiers in direct combat. Here is the fundamental difference…we lead the way. Funny how the ISAF countries all talk about human rights…but when it comes to liberating Kuwait, fighting in Somalia, or Bosnia, Iraq/Afghanistan…we always seem to be looking behind us to find our allies. But according to our President…they are just as equals…
But then maybe Obama and his teleprompter are equals as well.

We need to stop referring to these wars as an international effort. As one Iraq general said to a US Senator when he was asked why Iraq was not paying for certain actions, he replied, “Why should we when American is willing to do it”. So, if the security of NATO is involved, all pitch in equally or get the hell out of there.

Let’s see now,,,, NATO has been around for 60 years,,,,,,,,,,,,, Obama for 10 WEEKS,,,,,,, Yeah,, ok,,,,,, NATO’s faults are his. Makes sense to me. (It’s also clear why we’re , how should I say, “mixed-up”?)

For 8 years the World Community had to put up with the stupidity of Bush. Bush and his supporters got us into the wrong war. I hope a truth commission comes out about the Iraq war and torture. Bush and his supporters need to be held accountable for the world to see.
President Obama is doing the job right.

Who demolished the WTC with Nano-thermite explosives?

None of this matters, what really matters is what the ultra wealthy globalist want, they pull thestrings on our government, it’s not the peopele’s decicion to make. watch the obama deception on Y.T.