Subject: Re: 23 NATO Allies Meet Spending Targets
All thanks to Putin. Neither Trump nor Biden can take credit.

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I would disagree with this. Trump's prior actions CAN be directly attributed to these boosted levels of spending but the linkage is one of BLAME, not credit. None of these members likely boosted funding rates after concluding "Gee, that Trump guy's a bright guy, we better do the right thing and pony up." They ponied up because Trump's unique combination of corruption, servility to Putin and complete ignorance about history (ANY history) and military strategy created a disaster in their backyard that generated MILLIONS of refugees that fled to NATO countries and instantly created grave military and nuclear threats to the continent, both from war and a second Chernobyl level nuclear power plant disaster.

I've stated multiple times previously that it is VERY likely that Putin launched his invasion of Ukraine due to the following sequence of events:

1) Trump's ongoing willingness to suck up to Putin throughout term #1
2) Trump's attempted extortion of Zelenskyy via withholding US military aid in exchange for creating a public APPEARANCE of an investigation into non-existent wrongdoing of Hunter/Joe Biden
3) The distraction of American voters by the Russia-based context of the first impeachment stemming from the Zelenskyy coercion attempt
4) The distraction of the American House and Senate by the second impeachment stemming from Trump's failed coup attempt
5) The fizzling out of the second impeachment by Senate Republicans that took up the initial weeks of the new Congress and proved Congress was paralyzed by partisanship on protecting the most obvious / basic elements of democracy (domestically or for an ally)

I am nearly 100% certain there is no way Putin would have rolled into ANY other country without having conditions so optimally prepared as they were by Trump regarding Ukraine:

* a combative relationship between a US President and Zelenskyy seemingly preserved by remaining Republicans into 2021 past Trump's term
* a target already behind in defensive preparations due to promised weapons illegally delayed for months by a US President
* a world still at risk medically and economically from a COVID epidemic that still lacked a vaccine
* a US Congress that had already proven its (then) Republican minorities would prevent the US from doing the right thing in any matter involving Russia as an expression of continued fealty to ex-President Trump


WTH