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The Washington Post acknowledged on Monday that President Donald Trump is right about how “Europe needs to do more” to support the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) by increasing their defense spending.
After Trump criticized other nations for “freeloading” off U.S. military protection, NATO reached an agreement for all nations except Spain to boost their defense spending to five percent of their gross domestic product. The commitment is expected to be signed on Wednesday during the latest summit.
While the Washington Post editorial board applauded this effort, it argued that European nations, especially Spain, need to “take more responsibility for their own defense” if they want NATO to have any legitimacy.
“Trump is right that Europe needs to become more self-sufficient,” the editorial board wrote.
It added, “From London and Brussels to Ottawa, NATO is worth fighting, and spending, to preserve. That truth should be visible in Madrid, too.”
The Post editorial board also pointed out that the U.S. accounts for about half of all NATO spending, while several countries such as Spain, Canada, Italy and Belgium have struggled or failed to hit their two percent defense goals.
“President Donald Trump will attend the first NATO summit of his second term on Tuesday, at a time when the alliance’s 21st-century relevance has never been clearer — but when its sustainability is also in question, with a NATO-skeptical American president back in the Oval Office. Given these realities, Europe needs to show it will contribute its share to ensure the alliance is stable and strong,” The Post wrote.
Trump is expected to spend only one day in the Netherlands for the NATO summit before returning to the White House on Wednesday.
Though Trump has demanded other countries boost their defense spending, he has said recently that he doesn’t believe the U.S. needs to reach the same five percent goal.
“I don’t think we should, but I think they should,” he told reporters last week.
Fox News’ Morgan Phillips contributed to this report.
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