No, Germany doesn't owe America 'vast sums' of money for Nato

Berlin

FRESH off the heels of a dust-up with Britain, President Donald Trump attacked another key ally - Germany. At a news conference last Friday with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Mr Trump "reiterated" his "need for our Nato allies to pay their fair share for the cost of defencse." He followed up on Saturday with an impolitic double-barrelled tweet shot, writing that Germany owes America "vast sums of money" for Nato. And, he argued, the United States should be paid more "for the powerful, and very expensive, defense it provides" .

Security experts quickly attacked the flaws in Mr Trump's logic. On Twitter, Ivo Daalder, former US ambassador to Nato, wrote that increased defence spending in Germany isn't transferred to the United States. He also pointed out that Nato decided to make the 2 per cent requirement mandatory just a couple of years ago. The alliance gave all member states until 2024 to reach that goal, and Germany is on track. "Trump's comments misrepresent the way Nato functions," Mr Daalder told us. "The president keeps saying that we need to be paid by the Europeans for the fact that we have troops in Europe or provide defence there. But that's not how it works." Despite such critiques, this line of argument has been a near-constant refrain for Mr Trump and his administration. Since the campaign, he's argued that other countries aren't contributing what they should for the defence alliance. Nato members are urged to contribute 2 per cent of their GDP to defence spending. Germany pays…