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In addition to all the hullabaloo going on in the Swamp on the Potomac, Pres. Trump will be attending a NATO conference in London in December.<\/p>\n
https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/global\/europe\/2019\/11\/16\/this-could-get-a-little-ugly-what-to-watch-for-at-the-nato-leaders-summit\/<\/a><\/p>\n From the article:\u00a0 The focus, NATO watchers agree, will be on three presidents who have shaken the alliance in recent years. U.S. President Donald Trump began his criticisms of NATO while still campaigning for office, and during the last meeting of NATO leaders hinted at\u00a0possibly leaving the alliance<\/a>. The decisions by President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an of Turkey to buy a\u00a0Russian air defense system<\/a>\u00a0against the wishes of NATO, as well as to\u00a0move forces into Syria<\/a>, has led to open questions about whether Turkey remains a viable NATO ally. And most recently, comments from French President Emmanuel Macron shocked allies with critical comments about NATO in an interview with the Economist, where he complained of \u201cbrain death\u201d in the alliance.<\/p>\n All those issues \u2014 not to mention the U.K.\u2019s own election just days later, which could have major reverberations in Britain\u2019s relations with its European allies \u2014 means \u201cthis could get a little ugly, and all the positive agenda items [planned] could get drowned out by the noise,\u201d said Alexander Vershbow, a former NATO deputy secretary general and American ambassador.<\/p>\n Added Richard Hooker, a former director for Europe and Russia on the National Security Council, \u201cI think the timing of the leaders meeting is unfortunate. There\u2019s a convergence of controversies and events that are going on right now\u2026 I\u2019m not optimistic that it\u2019s going to go smoothly, or that there are going to be a lot of smiles.\u201d \u2013 article<\/p>\n Turkey matters, because its goal may be reacquiring land lost in the breakup of the Ottoman Empire at the end of World War I, and subsequent decades of warfare. Last week, Iran announced the discovery of a 53 billion barrel oil field, which might provide that country with income it needs and takes its tiny mind off hijacking ships in the Persian Gulf. Iran used to be part of the Ottoman Empire, over 100 years ago.<\/p>\n This ought to be interesting.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"