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Opinion | President Trump’s abuse at NATO reveals he is a threat to European security

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But we must not forget how successful NATO has been in maintaining peace on the territory of its member states, and how important unity and unconditional devotion to each other have been in achieving this.

Without the United States, there would be no NATO, and perhaps no peace. During the Cold War, NATO was a bulwark against the omnipresent Soviet threat on the European continent and elsewhere. The Soviet expansionist fantasy, which had been successful in various parts of the world, was not able to gain a strong foothold within Europe thanks to the right of collective self-defense in Article 5.

But the creation of NATO was not a selfless act by Washington. Rather, it was a strategic decision. American leaders realized that a largely peaceful European continent free of Marxist ideology was the key to American prosperity. Conversely, intertwining and destabilizing the two countries’ economies would be counterproductive to U.S. interests.

02:33

NATO launches largest ever air force exercise in Germany, but insists Russia is not the target

NATO launches largest ever air force exercise in Germany, but insists Russia is not the target

This is why every president except Trump, from Harry Truman to Obama to now Joe Biden, has regularly and forcefully reaffirmed their commitment to NATO.

The Soviet Union may have disappeared today, but Russian expansionism I’m alive and well.president Vladimir Putin He attacks neighboring Ukraine and continues to fantasize about the return of the great Russian Empire. What has been holding him back so far is NATO and the deterrence it provides. President Putin may be a dictator, but like many of his strongmen, he wants to ensure his own survival first and foremost. All-out war with NATO would put this goal into question, and he knows it.

Why doesn’t Russia take advantage of the opportunity to attack a tense United States?

But thankfully, President Putin can always rely on President Trump. President Trump made it clear at a rally last weekend that he would not support Title 5 if members did not pay their fees.

“No, I’m not going to protect you,” Trump recalled telling European leaders. “In fact, I recommend that [Russia] to do whatever they want. Must be paid. you have to pay the bill. ”

For those who still somehow believe that President Trump is playing three-dimensional chess and is only using such words to get Europeans to pay more, he is not.

President Trump’s antipathy toward NATO (and Thank you to President Putin) is real and has been documented for a long time. He has traditionally questioned the value of U.S. alliances. Of the Europeans, he once said, “Their conflicts are not worth American lives. This country would save millions of dollars a year if we pulled out of Europe.”
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg (front left) speaks with then-US President Donald Trump at the NATO Summit held in Watford, England, on December 4, 2019. President Trump’s antipathy toward NATO is well known.Photo: Associated Press
As president, he alienated European allies with his disdain for NATO and repeatedly threatened to abandon the alliance. 2018 NATO Summit. Adults in the administration, including John Bolton, James Mattis, John Kelly, Rex Tillerson, Mike Pompeo, and Mike Pence, should try to convince him to abandon the idea. However, this did not prevent him from making his views clear internally. “I don’t judge NATO,” Trump once told Bolton, then the national security adviser, during a heated debate.
And therein lies the problem. Trump really doesn’t care about or understand NATO. He does not realize that NATO only works because it is a believable bluff: the bluff of collective self-defense. No one really believed that the United States would give New York to Berlin during the Cold War, or that NATO countries would go to war over Berlin. estonia What if Russia attacked?

But it is precisely this lack of absolute certainty that makes the concept of deterrence work so well. Because so far, the American president has continued to do his best to convince the Kremlin that Article 5 is a response that Russia should never take lightly.

But President Trump seems determined to put an end to that belief, not only by questioning the right to collective self-defense, but by encouraging Russian aggression. It is therefore irrelevant that President Trump will inevitably face legal hurdles in his efforts to dismantle NATO. By the time the matter was litigated and decided, the damage would have been done.

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Russia warns of ‘countermeasures’, Finland joins NATO

Russia warns of ‘countermeasures’, Finland joins NATO

Trump once probably maybe he can be president again, has made it clear that it feels no obligation to abide by Article 5, the bluff has been called, deterrence has disappeared, NATO has become obsolete, and Russia is no longer afraid of the red lines forced by the United States. All of this gives the Kremlin carte blanche to attack its neighbors with impunity and shatter the stability the alliance has guaranteed its members for more than 70 years.

Therefore, it is not only Americans who should oppose President Trump’s return. It’s all of us. Thanks to American leadership, we are fortunate to live and prosper in times of near peace. President Trump’s second term is sure to change the status quo.

Thomas O. Falk is a journalist and political analyst who writes about German, British, and American politics.

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