Trump's NATO Summit: Allies Must Pay Up

President Trump arrives in Ankara, Turkey, for a two-day NATO summit that could redefine the alliance. The big story? Billions of dollars in new US arms sales, announced on the sidelines, and a blunt message from the White House. Allies must pay up. A close Trump advisor put it this way, "Daddy isn't going anywhere." At the heart of the summit, a push for binding defense spending commitments. NATO members agreed last year to a 5% of GDP target by 2035. US ambassador to NATO, Matthew Whitaker, says allies have committed nearly $139 billion, roughly half on American equipment. But some countries are lagging behind. Poland, the Nordics and the Baltics lead. Germany is on track by 2029. The Iran war remains a flash point. Trump earlier considered withdrawing from NATO over European restrictions during the conflict, and he signed a memorandum to begin talks with Iran in June. A former national security official said Trump was right to call out allies for freeloading on US operations in Iran. The war also strained US stock piles. The GAO reports weapons delivery timelines now average over 12 years. Other agenda items, meetings with Ukraine's President Zelensky and Syria's new leader, Akmed ...