Does America Need NATO?
After NATO allies agreed to increase defense spending, Trump changed his tune on the alliance. The NATO allies were concerned that Trump would walk if he wasn’t happy with his deal, but perhaps Trump ultimately stayed because he needs NATO as much as NATO needs him. More at CNBC.
NATO’s formidable conventional and nuclear forces are the most effective way to protect North America and Europe — the heart of the democratic world — from attack. Threats to our collective security have not vanished in the 21st century. Mr. Putin remains a determined adversary preying on Eastern Europe and American elections. NATO is a force multiplier: The United States has allies who will stand by us, while Russia has none.
Like any other institution, NATO is not perfect. Most allies need to spend more on defense. Fortunately, as a trend, allied defense spending is rising. America is right to continue raising this issue, and Trump is certainly not the first President to demand that Europeans shoulder a greater share of the burden. But bringing all the allies onboard when it comes to budgets and strategy takes time, patience and careful diplomacy. It won’t be accomplished by threats and bravado; in fact, such an approach will likely deliver the opposite outcome.
Europe is fully capable of matching — indeed exceeding — Russia in almost every category of latent and actual military power. Given that, perhaps it is time to ask, as Trump is ham-handedly doing, whether Europe and the U.S. might be better served by a different security architecture in Europe that can undertake new security missions without rekindling the Cold War.