Like Trump, Does Bernie Still Think NATO Is A Waste of Money?

[TomCADem]

During the Trump administration, we have seen the ramifications of a US that has become more isolationist at home. Russia has become increasingly aggressive and willing to interfere abroad. Democracies increasingly cannot rely on the US, as Trump questions the value of alliances. However, would Bernie Sanders be any different? Afterall, Bernie has dismissed NATO as a "waste" of money for the U.S., which funds a disproportionate share of the alliance among its 28 member nations. During his debates with Hillary Clinton, Bernie was Trump like in demanding that "The countries of Europe should pick up more of the burden for their defense."

Finally, Bernie even suggested that NATO was obsolete as Trump has done by proposing that NATO admit Russia and be transformed into anti-terrorist organization, rather than a bulwark against Russian aggression. This pro-Russian stance is particularly concerning given Bernie's long standing opposition to Russian sanctions such as the Magnitsky Act, the 2015 reauthorization of the Act, 2017 Election sanctions, and the efforts to lift sanctions earlier this year.

Put another way, if we oppose Trump's Russia friendly policies, why would we support Bernie Sanders and not a Democrat?

https://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/260804-sanders-calls-for-new-nato-that-includes-russia

Sanders calls for new NATO that includes Russia

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) called for a new accord between America, its closest allies and Russia as well as Arab nations as a major plank on how to destroy the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

“We must create an organization like NATO to confront the security threats of the 21st century — an organization that emphasizes cooperation and collaboration to defeat the rise of violent extremism and importantly to address the root causes underlying these brutal acts,” the Democratic presidential candidate said Thursday during a speech at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.

“We must work with our NATO partners, and expand our coalition to include Russia and members of the Arab League.”

NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, started at the doorstep of the Cold War and eventually became a major alliance against the then-Soviet Union. So accepting Russia into NATO, or creating a new defense group all together, would rearrange one of the world’s most powerful bonds by uniting the former rival countries around ISIS as the modern enemy.

[Andy823]

1. Very interesting

Thanks for posting this information.

[TomCADem]

16. Feelthebern - Bernie In 1997 - NATO a Waste of Taxpayer Dollars

I know a lot of folks are either claiming these sources are Fake News or just saying what-about-(insert name) or just blaming Obama, but here is feel the bern website compiling Bernie’s anti-NATO/pro-Russia views:

http://feelthebern.org/bernie-sanders-on-nato/

What is Bernie’s opinion on NATO expansion?
He’s against it, claiming it is a waste of taxpayer dollars and not geo-politically sound. In 1997, as a congressman, Bernie said:

“After four decades of the cold war and trillions of United States taxpayer dollars allocated to compete in the arms race, many of our constituents understand that it is not the time to continue wasting tens of billions of dollars helping to defend Europe, let alone assuming more than our share of any costs associated with expanding NATO eastward.”

Why would Bernie want to prevent countries from joining?
Bernie sees the eastward expansion of NATO as an unnecessary provocation of Russia — and, as stated in the quote above, he’s not interested in revisiting the Cold War era when Russia and the U.S. were constantly pitted against each other.

Even “pro-western” politicians in Russia have been hesitant to support NATO’s expansion to include Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia, the Baltic states that were part of the former Soviet Union. Russian President Vladimir Putin’s personal envoy even suggested that Finland’s membership in NATO would start “World War III,” while Putin himself referred to Ukraine’s potential membership as a “direct threat” to Russian national security.

Learn more about Bernie’s stance on Putin at the Russia issue page.

Are there other reasons Bernie opposes NATO expansion?
American taxpayers pay for 22 percent of NATO’s budget, contributing nearly $712 million in 2010. Most of America’s NATO allies have been decreasing their military spending, while the U.S. contributes more than twice as much as the second-largest funder. Bernie believes Europeans should play a larger role in funding the defense budget of a primarily European coalition.

[hedda_foil]

2. November 19, 2015. When Obama was president and ISIS was the threat du jour.

In a well governed nation, creating a defensive alliance to confront terrorism would naturally include Russia. Note also that he suggests either expanding and realigning NATO in the time of terrorism or forming a new alliance for that purpose. Today is a long way from 2015 and what might be perceived as a serious policy suggestion then would be folly to propose today.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

3. How does...

must create an organization like NATO to confront the security threats of the 21st century

...equall letting Russia in to NATO?


Sounds like he is saying we need to form a coalition to defeat terrorism. You have an odd way of interpreting that statement.

[kcr]

4. ""We must work with our NATO partners, and expand our coalition to include Russia and members of the

Arab League.”

[Hassin Bin Sober]

5. "We must create an organization like NATO"

[kcr]

6. Title of the article: Sanders calls for new NATO that includes Russia

In the body of the article:

NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, started at the doorstep of the Cold War and eventually became a major alliance against the then-Soviet Union. So accepting Russia into NATO, or creating a new defense group all together, would rearrange one of the world’s most powerful bonds by uniting the former rival countries around ISIS as the modern enemy.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

7. I don't give a shit what the article title says.

I only care what he said and it doesn’t match the article title.

But do carry on...

[kcr]

8. All he did was copy the article

[dogman]

9. My question is where does he say NATO is a waste of money?

Wanting to expand NATO's reach and it's mission expresses the opposite. He clearly knew there were obstacles to Russia joining NATO and offered alternative NATO + to deal with terrorism specifically, which is basically what we have done until T-Rump passed power back to Russia.

[TomCADem]

10. When it comes to NATO, Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump offer similar assessments

There is a reason that Russian trolls heavily supported both Bernie and Trump. Both push for an isolationist “anti-globalist” US policy.

https://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-live-updates-democr-1460688145-htmlstory.html

Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump are both outsiders of sorts in this campaign, and though they rarely agree on issues, there appears to be common ground over NATO.

Sanders dismissed NATO decades ago as a "waste" of money for the U.S., which funds a disproportionate share of the alliance among its 28 member nations.

"The countries of Europe should pick up more of the burden for their defense," Sanders said when asked during Thursday's debate about his past statements.

* * *
Sanders' views on NATO are somewhat similar to those recently voiced by Trump, who says NATO is unfair economically to the U.S.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

14. Maybe he got the idea from President Obama

Obama, Bush complained before Trump even arrived
"If we've got a collective defense, it means that everybody's got to chip in, and I've had some concerns about a diminished level of defense spending among some of our partners in NATO," President Barack Obama said in Brussels in 2014.

https://www.cnn.com/2018/07/04/politics/trump-us-presidents-nato-defense-spending/index.html
https://www.cnn.com/2018/07/04/politics/trump-us-presidents-nato-defense-spending/index.html

Yeah, yeah, I know it’s different....

Hey, did you hear Bernie and trump both breath air?

[TomCADem]

15. So, No Difference Between Obama vs Bernie/Trump?

Really? Do you really think that arguing that Bernie/Trump’s anti-NATO/pro-Russian views are the same as President Obama’s is a winner?

Do you really believe that? Honestly?

It is amazing how Bernie supporters sound just like Trump supporters when it comes to blaming President Obama and using the Fox News method of what about ism.

[CrossingTheRubicon]

12. Why not let Russia lead the coalition?

[MrsCoffee]

13. Travel and beer money.

We all work for travel and beer money here.

[Adrahil]

17. Bernie's foreign policy has always been a mess.

I tend to like his reluctance to engage in foreign adventurism, but otherwise....

And make no mistake... Putin views us as an enemy. Any cooperation with Putin should be very narrow, and very compartmentalized.

[Mr Tibbs]

18. If you actually read it, it says the opposite of that

[MineralMan]

19. Maybe someone will ask him that question.

Let's see how he answers.