As Washington seeks to renew denuclearization talks with Pyongyang, U.S. President Donald Trump is asking Japan, a longtime ally that the United States leans on for stability in the region, to pay drastically more to cover the cost of a continued U.S. military presence in that country.
The administration has asked Tokyo to pay roughly four times as much per year to offset the costs of stationing more than 50,000 U.S. troops there, current and former U.S. officials familiar with the matter told Foreign Policy. Then-National Security Advisor John Bolton and Matt Pottinger, the National Security Council’s Asia director at the time, delivered the request to Japanese officials during a trip to the region in July, the officials said.
Japan is not the only Asian ally the United States is asking to cough up more money for continued U.S. troop presence. The officials confirmed that during that same trip, Bolton and Pottinger made a similar demand of South Korea, which hosts 28,500 U.S. troops, asking Seoul to pay five times as much as it currently does. CNN and Reuters previously reported that Trump had demanded Seoul increase its contribution.
(Excerpt) Read more at foreignpolicy.com ...
AND TO GO ALONGVWITH THAT......
The Trump administration is reportedly demanding South Korea pay 400% more for U.S. troops in the region, officials said.
The president’s demands for an increase in spending of about $4.7 billion came as Defense Department Secretary Mark Esper is visiting South Korea to discuss the change in military costs, saying South Korea is wealthy enough to cover what the president is asking for, according to CNN, citing a congressional aide and an administration official.
“Sustaining the costs of our global military presence is not a burden that should fall on the US taxpayer alone but is a responsibility that should be shared fairly with allies and partners who benefit from our presence,” a State Department spokesperson said in a statement to the Daily Caller News Foundation.
Trump is demanding that South Korea pay roughly 400% more in 2020 to cover the cost of keeping US troops on the peninsula, sources say. (Corrects price tag increase percentage) Trump hikes prices tag for US forces in Korea almost 400% as Seoul fumes, frets - CNNPolitics
— CNN (@CNN) November 15, 2019
Esper said during a joint press conference with South Korean Minister of National Defense Jeong Kyeong-doo that South Korea is a wealthy enough country to foot part of the United States’ bill for military forces in the area, according to The Associated Press.
“This is a very strong alliance we have, but [South] Korea is a wealthy country and could and should pay more to help offset the cost of defense,” Esper said, adding that while South Korea has given the U.S. “a fair amount of support in the past … most of that money stays here in this country — easily over 90% of that money stays here in Korea, it does not go to the United States.”
(Excerpt) Read more at infowars.com ...
It's about time we stopped supporting the world ... for free. The only Americans 'benefiting BIG TIME' were Wahington elites milking fees from speeches, book deals and demanding butt kissing from foreigners...
Those days are over - thank YOU President Trump.
The administration has asked Tokyo to pay roughly four times as much per year to offset the costs of stationing more than 50,000 U.S. troops there, current and former U.S. officials familiar with the matter told Foreign Policy. Then-National Security Advisor John Bolton and Matt Pottinger, the National Security Council’s Asia director at the time, delivered the request to Japanese officials during a trip to the region in July, the officials said.
Japan is not the only Asian ally the United States is asking to cough up more money for continued U.S. troop presence. The officials confirmed that during that same trip, Bolton and Pottinger made a similar demand of South Korea, which hosts 28,500 U.S. troops, asking Seoul to pay five times as much as it currently does. CNN and Reuters previously reported that Trump had demanded Seoul increase its contribution.
(Excerpt) Read more at foreignpolicy.com ...
AND TO GO ALONGVWITH THAT......
The Trump administration is reportedly demanding South Korea pay 400% more for U.S. troops in the region, officials said.
The president’s demands for an increase in spending of about $4.7 billion came as Defense Department Secretary Mark Esper is visiting South Korea to discuss the change in military costs, saying South Korea is wealthy enough to cover what the president is asking for, according to CNN, citing a congressional aide and an administration official.
“Sustaining the costs of our global military presence is not a burden that should fall on the US taxpayer alone but is a responsibility that should be shared fairly with allies and partners who benefit from our presence,” a State Department spokesperson said in a statement to the Daily Caller News Foundation.
Trump is demanding that South Korea pay roughly 400% more in 2020 to cover the cost of keeping US troops on the peninsula, sources say. (Corrects price tag increase percentage) Trump hikes prices tag for US forces in Korea almost 400% as Seoul fumes, frets - CNNPolitics
— CNN (@CNN) November 15, 2019
Esper said during a joint press conference with South Korean Minister of National Defense Jeong Kyeong-doo that South Korea is a wealthy enough country to foot part of the United States’ bill for military forces in the area, according to The Associated Press.
“This is a very strong alliance we have, but [South] Korea is a wealthy country and could and should pay more to help offset the cost of defense,” Esper said, adding that while South Korea has given the U.S. “a fair amount of support in the past … most of that money stays here in this country — easily over 90% of that money stays here in Korea, it does not go to the United States.”
(Excerpt) Read more at infowars.com ...
It's about time we stopped supporting the world ... for free. The only Americans 'benefiting BIG TIME' were Wahington elites milking fees from speeches, book deals and demanding butt kissing from foreigners...
Those days are over - thank YOU President Trump.
