"NATO's Defense Spending, Obama's Response, and Trump's NATO Remarks: A Year in Review"

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg announced that a record 18 of the organization's 31 members are expected to meet the 2% GDP defense spending threshold this year, marking a significant increase from 2014. Stoltenberg criticized former US President Donald Trump's recent comments undermining collective defense, stating that such remarks put soldiers at risk. He also acknowledged the need for fair burden sharing and highlighted Germany's plan to meet the 2% target for the first time since the early 1990s, with NATO's European allies collectively expected to reach the threshold for the first time this year.