MILITARY/NATO/SPENDING/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “U. S. military allies have increased their defense spending by 3.82% over the past year, since President Donald Trump called for more contributions, according to figures released by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization Thursday [6-7-18]. The size of national defense budgets was the main irritant at a NATO summit last year and is likely to feature prominently at the alliance leaders’ meeting in Brussels next month, which Mr. Trump will attend. Despite the increase, only eight out of the military alliance’s 29 members will this year meet NATO’s target of spending 2% of gross domestic product on defense. Still, all NATO countries have started increasing their defense spending and many have put forward plans on reaching 2% by 2024, said NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Thursday at the end of a defense ministers’ meeting. Mr. Stoltenberg said the 3.82% increase for 2018 compared with 2017 is an estimate that could end up higher at year-end. Germany on Wednesday [6-6-18] announced it will increase its defense budget to 1.5% of GDP by 2025.”
-Valentina Pop, “U.S. Allies Boost Defense Spending, NATO Says,” The Wall Street Journal, June 7, 2018 3:03 pm