Nato’s summit concluded yesterday with an agreement to spend more on defense. Our main story focuses on the way Germany is putting that into practice.

“Daddy’s” still behind NATO: U.S. President Donald Trump left the nato summit yesterday more supportive of the alliance than ever. A short clip in which nato Secretary General Mark Rutte somewhat awkwardly referred to Donald Trump as “Daddy” went viral. The Dutch hosts rolled out the red carpet for President Trump, hosting him at the Huis ten Bosch Palace on Tuesday, where he stayed overnight as the guest of the king and queen.

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“It was a fairly long trip but worth it,” said President Trump. “Tremendous things have been accomplished.” He said, “I came here because it was something I was supposed to be doing. But I left here a little bit different.” Every leader spoke with “love and passion” about their countries. “They want to protect their country,” he said. “They were so respectful of me.”

“Almost every one of them said, ‘Thank God for the United States. Without the United States we couldn’t have nato,” he said. And so he concluded that nato is “not a rip-off” and “we’re here to help them.”

The summit’s conclusion was short (424 words, compared to 11,000 in 2023) but gave President Trump what he wanted. “Allies will allocate at least 3.5 percent of gdp annually based on the agreed definition of nato defense expenditure by 2035” and “up to 1.5 percent of gdp annually to … protect our critical infrastructure, defend our networks, ensure our civil preparedness and resilience, unleash innovation, and strengthen our defense industrial base.”

Following through is the harder part. Germany is the only major economy on course to carry that out. Its defense spending has more than doubled over the last decade, and it is planning on almost doubling it again. It has become the EU’s largest military spender. In establishing a permanent military base in Lithuania it is taking on military leadership of the EU. nato’s first secretary general, Lord Ismay, said the alliance’s purpose was to “keep the Russians out, the Americans in, and the Germans down.” Now nato is empowering Germany to lead all of Europe. Watch Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry’s Key of David program “Lithuania in Prophecy,” to be posted on our website tomorrow, which shows what a massive turnaround this is for the whole world.

“Beware the Europe You Wish For” is the title of the Foreign Affairs piece on the meeting. It warns:

But before American officials pat themselves on the back or take a victory lap, they must understand the downsides of their success. Growing European power means the era of comfortable U.S. leadership is over. Now that it provides more for itself, Europe will feel less pressure to defer to Washington’s interests. It is less likely to buy American-made weapons. It might deny the United States the right to use American military bases in Europe for operations in Africa, Asia and the Middle East.

Japan is also making major military changes. Article 9 of Japan’s Constitution states that “land, sea and air forces, as well as other war potential, will never be maintained.” They don’t have an army; they have a Self-Defense Force—which is otherwise identical to an army. For years they’ve reinterpreted this clause to say that only “defensive” weaponry is allowed.

On Tuesday, Japan fired its first missile ever from Japanese territory. It was a Type 88 surface-to-ship missile. It is a purely defensive missile, of course.

Over the last few years, Japan has authorized “defensive” aircraft carriers (initially called “helicopter destroyers” and “mother ships” despite the fact they can carry jets), “defensive” marines and now “defensive” missiles. It’s clear that almost every restriction on Japan’s military has fallen. Just as with Germany, World War II history is now considered too ancient to matter, and America is keen to have these countries rearm. But that history should be a warning. Our In Brief on the subject has more.

IN OTHER NEWS

Two people, including a child, were killed in storms and flooding across France last night. One died when his motorbike hit a fallen tree; a 12-year-old boy died after being hit by a falling tree. The French government was forced to suspend its talks on the Middle East conflict after water leaked through the roof of the National Assembly, while golf ball-size hailstones damaged roofs in Dordogne.

What can you buy for €1? If you are Romania, the answer is 18 F-16 fighter jets. The Netherlands will hand the planes over for the nominal sum of €1 for use at a nato F-16 training center. This is another example of Europe coming together on defense.

With bargains like that on offer, no wonder Canada is considering joining the EU. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas told Bloomberg that Canada could join as it shares an Arctic border with Europe. Our In Brief has more on the defense pact being considered between the two.

Voters in Germany and Italy want their countries’ gold reserves brought back from the U.S. They hold the world’s second- and third-largest gold reserves and aren’t keen on trusting the U.S. to look after about a third of that. Our In Brief has more.