By Leonid Bershidsky U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis has delivered to America’s allies a message often heard during Donald Trump’s election campaign: Spend more on defense or expect the U.S. to “moderate its commitment to the alliance.” While European members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization have agreed, they won’t necessarily rush to meet U.S. […]
NATO
Posted inNation / World, sj-web
EU nations disagree when Donald Trump calls NATO obsolete
BERLIN — European Union nations reacted with surprise and defiance Monday to comments by President-elect Donald Trump, who said in an interview that he believed NATO was “obsolete” and that more member states would leave the 28-nation EU. German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, speaking ahead of an EU foreign ministers meeting, said Trump’s view on […]
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Posted inOp-Eds
Russia the topic of NATO July summit
NATO’s summit meeting in Warsaw, scheduled to begin July 8, comes at a difficult yet opportune time for the alliance. The difficulties NATO confronts are evident. Major challenges include terrorism by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria as well as the security impact of Syrian refugees flooding European NATO nations. The modernization of military […]
Posted inOp-Eds
Paris and Turkey: NATO shadow wars
Less provocative and deadly incidents than the latest Paris terror massacre and the November 24 Turkey-Russia aerial incident have ignited very large and destructive wars. Both incidents are serious, both involve U.S. NATO allies and both have already produced chain reaction political consequences. Review the headlines. On Nov. 13, NATO member France suffered a devastating […]
Posted inObituaries, sj-web
Kenneth ‘Ken’ Gilman
1922 – 2015 WEST PARIS — Kenneth “Ken” Gilman, formerly of West Peru, passed away at the Ledgeview Living Center in West Paris on Saturday, Aug. 22, after a period of deteriorating health. Ken was born on Aug. 25, 1922, in Johnson, Vt., to Forrest Madison Gilman and Margaret Idella Gilman. On Aug. 24, 1946, […]
Posted insj-web, Specials
Pro-Russian gunmen make inroads in eastern Ukraine
SLOVYANSK, Ukraine (AP) — The well-armed, Moscow-backed insurgency sowing chaos in eastern Ukraine scored a new victory Wednesday, seizing armored vehicles and weapons from underequipped government forces, then rolling through two cities to a hero’s welcome. Responding to what it sees as Russia’s aggression, NATO announced it was increasing its military presence along its eastern […]
Posted inOp-Eds
Austin Bay: NATO’s demise is anything but imminent
For over two decades, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization has defied the pundits who predict its imminent demise. Recent intra-NATO debates reveal the alliance adapting to 21st century needs and economic limitations. But the bottom line is NATO still matters, to Europe and the U.S., because an alliance coordinating the defense of democratic nations still […]