War

Saudi Arabia says it is ready to support the United States in its so-called war against ISIS by sending ground troops and special forces to Syria. In an interview with the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung , the Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said that other Persian Gulf Arab “countries” were also “ready to allocate forces to fight on the US side,”  adding that there were consultations with the Americans to find out what the plan was and what was needed to implement it.

Via Disobedient Media

In December 2016, Europol released a statement warning that ISIS was likely to soon enact plans to stage large scale terror attacks in multiple states across the EU. The operations have been planned since 2013 but are now being accelerated due to ISIS' territorial losses in the Middle East to coalition forces.

There is a growing concern among top Kremlin officials that the new Trump administration is far less friendly than previously thought. When Russia was cheering for Donald Trump in the US elections, it was doing so purely out of dislike for Hillary Clinton, to stop her entering the White House and starting world war III. Donald Trump’s friendly attitude toward Russia at the time was for the same reason.

While the U.S. outspends all NATO allies when it comes to overall defence spending in relation to her GDP, Statista's Dyfed Loesche notes - and President Trump is very well aware of - the U.S. is also the prime direct financer of NATO.

However, direct contribution are more evenly split between the major NATO powers. Germany for example, spends only 1.19 percent of her GDP into defence (USA = 3.61 percent) but seemingly pulls its weight when it comes to direct funding of NATO. This does not include contributions to particular military operations.

Submitted by Ron Paul via The Ron Paul Institute for Peace & Prosperity,

Just over a week into the Trump Administration, the President issued an Executive Order giving Defense Secretary James Mattis 30 days to come up with a plan to defeat ISIS. According to the Order, the plan should make recommendations on military actions, diplomatic actions, partners, strategies, and how to pay for the operation.