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U.S. acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan
U.S. acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan
Shanahan on March 14 told the Senate Armed Services Committee that allies did need to pay their fair share of the cost of having U.S. troops in their country, but added that compensation often comes in differing forms -- including providing support for war in places such as Afghanistan.
U.S. news media had reported that President Donald Trump was pushing a "cost-plus-50 percent" formula for countries such as Germany, Japan, Italy, and South Korea, and others to compensate Washington for U.S. troop deployments.
According to the reports, the formula would mean a hosting country would pay the total cost of housing U.S. troops, plus pay a premium of another 50 percent for the privilege of having them on their territory. But Shanahan told the Senate panel the reports were "erroneous. He said:
"We're not going to run a business and we're not going to run a charity. Payment comes in lots of different forms. At the end of the day, people need to carry their fair share. Not everyone can contribute. It is not about 'cost-plus-50 percent.'"
Comment: Israel is a master of message control. It has proven that, over time, small tweaks are an effective method to alter meaning, shift perception and redirect public focus in order to achieve its desired response. The US government, Israel's puppet and arguably its greatest manipulated success, employs this skillful deception on Israel's behalf without question. It doesn't change reality, however; the Golan Heights are Syria, not Israel.