Pentagon chief suggests European allies replace funds diverted to border wall

[turbinetree]

Source: Reuters

World News
September 5, 2019 / 7:10 PM / Updated 2 hours ago

Idrees Ali 3 Min Read

LONDON (Reuters) - U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper said that European nations should consider funding projects in their countries after the Pentagon diverted money to pay for a border wall with Mexico.

The Pentagon said on Wednesday it would pull funding from 127 Defense Department projects abroad and at home, including schools and daycare centers for military families, as it diverts $3.6 billion to pay for President Donald Trump’s wall along the U.S. border.

Trump has made immigration a signature issue of his presidency. He declared a national emergency over the issue earlier this year in an effort to redirect funding from Congress to build a wall along the U.S. southern border, which he originally said would be paid for by Mexico.

“The message that I’ve been carrying, since when I was acting secretary to today, has been about the increase in burden sharing,” Esper told reporters in London late on Thursday.


Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-immigration-pentagon-europe/pentagon-chief-suggests-european-allies-replace-funds-diverted-to-border-wall-idUSKCN1VQ2WT

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Okay a##hole, did you ever live on a military base in the US or overseas.........................you do f**king know, or your suppose to know, that the guest country that we have our bases on pay for a lot of things in those countries to the US, or are you that f**king stupid...........................you do f**king realize that some US citizens in the military live off base, because they don't have enough base housing.............................Do you also know that military personnel from other countries that are in the country (US) live off the US base and yes, they generate money into our economy...........so your asking the host country to fund your stupid right wing traitors b**shit.................are you that stupid...........................you should be impeached just to even suggest anything that stupid, why don't you take your taxpayer paid monthly check and pay for the diverted housing overseas, to show the world your patriotism, that was approved by the US Supreme Court this last July to rob those funds and tell Congress to basically go F*ck themselves when it comes to appropriations ...............................

[Eugene]

1. Rachel Maddow is covering this now.

Much of the cuts in Europe come out of the European Deterrence Initiative meant to defend from Russia. Isn't that interesting?

[turbinetree]

3. Wado...................Thank you

I hope that she attacks this right wing doofus and the traitor in the white house that had Russian Spies laughing and joking...........................this comment says a lot about this persons character and principles......................on defending the host country and us...............................

November 3, 2020 cannot get here fast enough.............................

[cstanleytech]

10. Want to bet Moscow Mitch does nothing to stop it and in fact works to kill any bills that would?

[onecaliberal]

2. This will undo all Obama did to punish Russia for taking Crimea.

[turbinetree]

4. Yepper spot on.............................

And in this country the Republicans don't say crap.........................

November 3, 2020 cannot get here fast enough......................

[Phoenix61]

5. I keep having to check if stuff is from The Onion

This is just fucking insane! I’m not sure how much more of this crap I can take before I start looking for somewhere else to live. Part of me wants to stay and fight but the other part leans towards fuck it. I’m sure I’ll feel better tomorrow and be ready to renew the fight but damn. What a fucking goat rope.

[ancianita]

6. Admitting to Europe that American Republicans eat their own. Republicans eat their own.

I was part of US military that had to live off base, as an officer's wife.

Yes. Absolutely.

"Do you also know that military personnel from other countries that are in the country (US) live off the US base and yes, they generate money into our economy...........so your [sic] asking the host country to fund your stupid right wing traitors b**shit.................are you that stupid...........................you should be impeached just to even suggest anything that stupid, why don't you take your taxpayer paid monthly check and pay for the diverted housing overseas, to show the world your patriotism, that was approved by the US Supreme Court this last July to rob those funds and tell Congress to basically go F*ck themselves when it comes to appropriations"

[SergeStorms]

7. Up yours, asshole!

Esper has his nose so far up Trump's ass it's hard to tell where Trump ends and Esper begins. Fuck both of them.

[rockfordfile]

8. Russia supports it

[Takket]

9. This highlights, unintentionally, that the military needs MASSIVE budget cuts

If they can give up all these projects to build a stupid wall then they could not have been that important to begin with. The message to me is that the military is saying they have a lot of pork barrel projects.

[dansolo]

14. Wrong. They are taking money from programs that do need it

None of the pork barrel projects are losing funding. The money is being taken away from military infrastructure projects.

[TomSlick]

11. This is simply embarrassing.

Trump is stealing money from the children of military folks. I don't want to hear any more shit about taking care of the troops.


You talk o' better food for us, an' schools, an' fires, an' all:
We'll wait for extry rations if you treat us rational.
Don't mess about the cook-room slops, but prove it to our face
The Widow's Uniform is not the soldier-man's disgrace.

Tommy, Rudyard Kipling

[BlueIdaho]

12. I thought Mexico was going to build the wall...

What a total shit.

[TomVilmer]

13. Pentagon's full budget ended at around 650 billion...

... last year. $3.6 billion of that is just peanuts. Might be some important peanuts though - the military should focus much more on schools and daycare centers. US defense spending is 3.1 percentage of GDP. BTW, the big enemy Russia's defense budget is at 61 billion, around 4 percentage of their GDP.