i was in the defense department when i heard bob gates say very very quietly but very very bluntly to the europeans that they had to start ponying up or the american people were going to take notice. i think we are getting a very different kind of response from the europeans now that they realize that hey, that might actually happen. so we have mike pence and we have jim mattis going out and speaking very very, in comforting tones but behind them, they have donald trump saying something else. i think that actually empowers them. interesting. wow. i got to say that s interesting, because if there is a method to it, it is pure madness, because having spent a good deal of my career overseas, this is not the kind of things you do to allies and expect them to get on board when you need them. there have been many times when our nato and other european allies have actually come to our assistance. they may not be paying up and there was a plan that mr. gates put in place that they would ev
pattern emerge on a lot of these issues, where whether it s torture, one state or two state solution with israel, the oil in iraq or the contribution to nato, where the president allows himself to think out loud in ways that contradict what his principals are doing. i think there s a message to this which we need to think about. take, for instance, the nato question. the last two administrations have complained about the europeans not meeting their 2% contributions to nato. i was in the defense department when i heard bob gates say very very quietly but very very bluntly to the europeans that they had to start ponying up or the american people were going to take notice. i think we are getting a very different kind of response from the europeans now that they realize that hey, that might actually happen. so we have mike pence and we have jim mattis going out and speaking very very, in comforting tones but behind them, they have donald trump saying something else. i think that actually e
do i expect unanimity among the 28 eu members? i have now been president for 5 1/2 years. and i ve learned a thing or two about the european union, the european commission, the european council. sometimes i get them mixed up. but welcome to the club. but the basic principle that if you ve got 28 people sitting around a table, then not everybody s going to agree, i think we take that for granted. and i also think that if, in fact, we have to move to sectoral sanctions, it s important to take individual countries sensitivities in mind and make sure that everybody is ponying up, that everybody is bearing their fair share. some people are going to be more concerned about defense relations. some people are going to be more concerned about the financial sector. others might be more concerned
28 eu members? i ve now been president for five and a half years, and i ve learned a thing or two about the european union, the european commission, the european council, sometimes i get them mixed up, but the welcome to the club. but the basic principle that if you have 28 people sitting around a table that not everybody s going to agree, i think we take that for granted, and i also think that if, in fact, we have to move to sectoral sanctions, it s important to take individual country s sensitivities in mind and make sure that everybody is ponying up, that everybody is bearing their fair share. some people are going to be more concerned about defense relations. some people are going to be more concerned about the financial sector. others might be more concerned about the the trade in basic
contact the verizon center for customers with disabilities at 1-800-974-6006. shepard: it kind of looks like newt is about finished but don t let him hear you say that. newt gingrich announcing he is scaling down his campaign and changing his strategy. sign oofof decembeofof desperaf the road? newt gingrich is running out of money. his vegas sponsor is no longer ponying up and today he says he is no longer running in the