Trump defence chief to NATO: pay up or we reduce support

Yahoo – AFP, Thomas WATKINS and Lachlan CARMICHAEL, February 15, 2017

US Defence Minister James Mattis addresses the press at the NATO headquarters
in Brussels on February 15, 2017 (AFP Photo/EMMANUEL DUNAND)

Brussels (AFP) - US Defence Secretary James Mattis bluntly warned NATO allies Wednesday that Donald Trump's administration would "moderate its commitment" to the transatlantic alliance unless members met their spending pledges.

Mattis's no-nonsense message to his counterparts in Brussels follows years of calls by Washington for allies to spend at least two percent of their GDP on defence, a goal that only a handful meet despite agreeing on it at a summit in 2014.

It packs extra weight as it comes after Trump has said US help for NATO members -- already worried by the threat from Russia in the east -- might depend on how much they have paid.

"Americans cannot care more for your children's future security than you do," retired Marine general Mattis said in prepared remarks to defence ministers at NATO headquarters.

"If your nations do not want to see America moderate its commitment to this alliance, each of your capitals need to show support for our common defence."

Mattis called for "milestone dates" this year that would track NATO member contributions.

'Very firm message'

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg denied that Mattis's words amounted to a threat, saying it was a "firm message" and that his colleagues agreed that they would do more to contribute.

Map of NATO member countries (AFP Photo/)

"Secretary Mattis conveyed a very firm message to all Allies. That message is about the importance of fair burden-sharing. It reflects a political reality in the United States," Stoltenberg told a press conference.

Currently, only the United States, Britain, Estonia, Greece and Poland have hit or surpassed the two percent figure.

The call for more funding comes as NATO mounts its biggest buildup since the Cold War, strengthening its eastern flank following Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014.

British Defence Secretary Michael Fallon told reporters that he had called on laggards to at least increase spending annually to "demonstrate good faith."

NATO said its member countries spent a total of $892 billion (842 billion euros) in 2015, with the United States accounting for $641 billion. Russian military spending in 2015 rose to 66 billion dollars, the SIPRI institute in Stockholm said.

Despite lambasting some NATO partners' spending, Mattis hailed NATO as the "fundamental bedrock" of transatlantic security as he sought to reassure allies about Trump's commitment to the alliance.

Since his inauguration, Trump has taken a more orthodox stance on NATO and reaffirmed long-standing US commitment to the alliance that Mattis has previously served.

Trump, who is set to meet NATO leaders in Brussels in May, had previously said the alliance was "obsolete."

Russia scandal

Mattis's visit to NATO, his first trip to Europe since being sworn in last month, comes amid a growing scandal at the White House following the resignation of Trump's national security adviser Michael Flynn.

Flynn quit over allegations he had discussed US sanctions with Russia's ambassador before taking office.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg (C) presides a NATO defence ministers

meeting in Brussels on February 15, 2017 (AFP Photo/EMMANUEL DUNAND)

Mattis and Stoltenberg both insisted the Flynn scandal was not a cause for concern for the alliance, which has underpinned transatlantic security since the aftermath of World War II.

But NATO partners are worried about possible ties between other officials on Trump's campaign team and Moscow, which has alarmed former communist countries with its belligerent stance since the Crimea annexation.

During the previous Barack Obama administration, NATO agreed to send four multinational battalions to Poland and each of its three Baltic state members.

Also hanging over the meeting was a New York Times report that Moscow had deployed a new type of cruise missile, raising fears it would violate the Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty.

Stoltenberg said any non-compliance with the treaty was of "serious concern" while Mattis said NATO would "defend ourselves if Russia chooses to act contrary to international law."

Prodded by the new Trump administration, NATO is also stepping up efforts to counter terrorist threats from North Africa and the Middle East.

NATO will set up "as soon as possible" a hub with 100 staff at the alliance's Joint Force Command in Naples, Italy, which will coordinate intelligence on crisis countries like Iraq and Syria, Stoltenberg said.

The alliance will also deploy surveillance drones in Sicily to get a better intelligence picture.

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"Recalibration of Free Choice"–  Mar 3, 2012 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Caroll) - (Subjects: (Old) Souls, Midpoint on 21-12-2012, Shift of Human Consciousness, Black & White vs. Color, 1 - Spirituality (Religions) shifting, Loose a Pope “soon”, 2 - Humans will change react to drama, 3 - Civilizations/Population on Earth,  4 - Alternate energy sources (Geothermal, Tidal (Paddle wheels), Wind), 5 – Financials Institutes/concepts will change (Integrity – Ethical) , 6 - News/Media/TV to change, 7 – Big Pharmaceutical company will collapse “soon”, (Keep people sick), (Integrity – Ethical)  8 – Wars will be over on Earth, Global Unity, … etc.) - (Text version)

“…  8 - The End of War

The last one is the best. For thousands of years on this planet, Human Beings have warred with each other. If you take a look at the reasons they warred with each other, you will quickly see there aren't any good ones - land, resources, greed. Those are not reasons. That is a description of old energy. Those are not reasons. Reasons would be perhaps defense against an aggressor. But what if there is no longer the consciousness of the aggressor?

When I appeared in my partner's life more than 20 years ago, I said to him privately that the first messages we're going to give will be unbelievable. There would be laughter. We told him that Human nature and consciousness itself would change, and that the seeds of peace would be planted and there would come a time where there is no more war. Indeed, the laughter was great because humans look at history and they see patterns based on an absolute energy called Human Nature. "Impossible! There always has to be war. There always has been. Therefore, there always will be." This is you, in a box, in a black and white potential, where you can only see the black and white of what is and the black and white of what has been. You have no idea the shades of color that are there in your consciousness and the beauty of the love of God.

North Korea is on the edge of change, as we told you it might be. What did this require? The death of the old energy, and I want you to watch this take place. The advisors of the young leader are going to do their best to pull him back into an old energy. This free choice of his will be far different than his father, for he sees some color. Watch for these things. They'll take longer than you want, but it is the beginning of the beginning.

You'll see a fresh unification of South America sooner than not, for what is going to take place potentially this year in Venezuela. You'll see Iran changing. We have no clock. These are the potentials. These can change with free choice. These are not prophecies. This is a reality shift, dear ones, so number eight becomes the propensity not to war again. This is what Humans are going to want. This is what governments are going to want. There is a wisdom factor that will begin to happen on the planet that is grander than what you think is possible. For when you look at government, what do you think about? You see dysfunction, and there is an axiom that says the more people that try to do something together, the worse it gets. It all settles to the lowest common denominator. I'm telling you even those things are going to become old energy concepts. Instead, you're going to watch wisdom become the top potential.

I have no clock. I cannot tell you when. I can just tell you it is in the works, and there will be the seeds of it for you to observe soon - right now, in every single of the eight categories I showed you.

There are those who will say, "Well, Kryon, you're doing a lot more predictions than you used to." I want to tell you what's going on, dear one. I am not predicting anything. I am just telling you what's already there in the potential soup of your reality. That's what Humans are doing on this planet, and for those who believe this communication, you should breathe a sigh of relief and say, "It's about time." ….”

"The Biggest Filter" - July 18-19, 2015 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll) - (Text version)

“..  War - Nobody Sees What is Coming

Let's talk about war. Let's discuss something that very few are considering. What you expect next is completely and totally out of perspective of what's actually coming, because you only have one kind of knowledge about war. Your war has advanced over history with bigger explosions, higher yields and weapons that fire faster. Nuclear, laser, sound - all are far more efficient ways to terminate life. That's how war has evolved. However, there hasn't really been anything called anti-war devices, have there?

I'm going to give you an invitation for discovery, and some are already in the postulation stage of this. Multidimensional fields change 3D reality. Period. I've told you that lurking in your future are discoveries that will help you with every aspect of your life, mainly due to the discovery of what makes basic physics do what it does at the atomic level. If you fully understand multidimensionality, you can manipulate the formula for mass and create massless objects. You can even do it with the tools you have right now.

There is physics possible that can create certain kinds of fields - listen to me - certain kinds of heretofore unseen multidimensional fields that are harmless to your biology, but will alter some attributes of 3D. These fields are designer fields, and they are isolated and specifically designed for one purpose. When in the field, conventional explosive reactions can't happen. Can you imagine putting a field within rooms of a building so that no matter what weapon is fired, whether it's a machine gun or a pistol, it simply won't work! What about targeting an airplane when it drops a bomb and it won't explode? This is pure physics. The alteration of 3D reality through multidimensional designer fields, both small and large, is coming. I know you don't believe it, but just wait. As you start to discover multidimensional physics and the ability to control it, you will discover that there is a "benevolent attitude" of this kind of physics. You can't "weaponize it" as easily as you can 3D. It is an entirely different kind of reality.

Again, I tell you that when you understand how mass is created at the atomic level, you'll learn how to create massless objects. By the way, that has another name. You call it anti-gravity, but there is no such thing. It's just the ability to finally control the formula that creates gravity with mass. You understand that this is simple physics, don't you? And it's very easy to manipulate for benevolent uses through other fields that you do know about. Just like you have learned to control certain kinds of physics that are 3D, you can also control multidimensional physics. Imagine a planet where it doesn't matter what war device you had, it wouldn't work anymore! What do you think about that? Imagine physics having the ability to shatter the molecules of a biological weapon. Do you think that would change world politics? It's happening, it's going to happen. It's in the laboratory today. You're broaching the discovery of multidimensional physics. Being able to control that which you don't think is controllable is what you are doing. It's going to make such a difference to the Human race!

You don't believe it, since your knowledge of how things work just doesn't allow for such a thing. This is your filter.  ….”