The lack of understanding being demonstrated by the usual suspects in this thread is hilarious. As has been pointed out by numerous people, despite not penetrating into some of the thicker skulls, Germany does not "owe" America a cent, that's not how the agreement works. Part of the reason people are laughing at you guys is because Trump is walking around like a collections agent, also demonstrating his lack of understanding of how the agreement works. The money is a commitment to percentage of GDP to spend on National Defense... As much as Trump would like the American military to be a mercenary asset to sell to the rest of the world, that's not what the intent of NATO was.
So, basically, America spending more than the 2% is A) totally voluntary, and independent of any NATO obligations or agreements, and B) totally understandable, because unlike Germany, America's foreign policy methodology has been way more aggressive and confrontational since WW2 than any of the other NATO allies.
I think that the time is fast approaching, or has come already, where America needs to accept that no one wants to be like them anymore. No one wants giant militaries, and the threat of constant war. No one wants to have the constant friction and chest puffing. And, as American policy seems more and more dedicated to sinking America to the bottom in almost every conceivable way *other* than militarily, why would someone like Germany, who is basically moving in the exact opposite direction, give a damn what America thinks?
I think America should pull out of NATO...and all their trade agreements too. It's like, when you're in your teens, there's that one dude that everyone lets hang out because he's the tough guy and the party animal, and you know no one will mess with you while he's around. But when everyone graduates and becomes an adult, America is the guy that still thinks it's cool to smash beer cans on his head and beats up anyone who looks at his (significantly less attractive than you remember) girlfriend....basically, everyone waits for him to pass out, so they can sneak out and move on to whatever better things life holds, only to find that they didn't really need the dumb bully to begin with. Ah, growing up.
Oh, sure, you guys can say "Ya, well, don't come crying to us when Russia or China or North Korea does {insert random scary thing}", and don't worry, we won't...because frankly, given your foreign policy, I think putting some distance between us and you wouldn't be a bad thing. I'd rather work out global differences like adults, without America showing up waving around it's phallic missiles...and without having to apologize for their policy gaffes. You want to talk trash about Germany? America has been a bad ally for much longer, and has increased the risk for all it's allies through it's John Wayne approach to being a world power. Trump was just the straw that broke the camel's back, and if you guys hadn't been such an economic driver for so many years, this would have happened a long time ago. Now that new markets are emerging, and you have Trump threatening to basically make yours worthless, get used to the pushback. Trump's "Make America Great Again" approach is only serving to highlight how far you've fallen.
Oh, and Germany has promised to do the 2% thing until 2024, another brilliant diss by the Germans, by the way, given that's the longest they will have to deal with your current looney. A beautifully German response "Ok, zee child is fussy, lets give him zee cookie until he falls asleep." So on the NATO agreement front, nothing to gripe about.
Fact-checking Trump's tweets: Does Germany owe NATO 'vast sums of money'? - ABC News
lol...
