NATO Fires Back After Donald Trump Questions Value of Defending Allies

[Rob L 3,811]

In an unusual response to a political debate, alliance’s head says members ‘defend one another’

http://www.wsj.com/articles/nato-fires-back-after-donald-trump-questions-value-of-defending-allies-1469120175

WASHINGTON—The head of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization took the unusual step of wading into the U.S. presidential campaign on Thursday after Republican nomineeDonald Trump rekindled a foreign policy debate by saying the U.S. may not come to the aid of alliance members if they are attacked by Russia.

“I will not interfere in the U.S. election campaign, but what I can do is say what matters for NATO,” NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said. “Solidarity among allies is a key value for NATO.”

Without mentioning Mr. Trump by name, Mr. Stoltenberg said alliance members “defend one another.” Article 5 of the 1949 treaty that established NATO stipulates that an attack on one member represents an attack on all and requires the alliance to come to the defense of any country attacked.

In an interview with the New York Times , Mr. Trump questioned the collective defense provisions of the NATO treaty on monetary grounds, saying that many members weren’t paying their fair share. He told the paper that if Russia attacked the Baltic States, which are NATO members, he would decide whether to defend them only after reviewing “if they have fulfilled their obligations to us.”

Such a change in policy would put the alliance into question and fundamentally rewrite the rules of European security that have been in place since the end of World War II.

[Sousuke 1,214]

This is probably the most serious issue in dealing with Trump. The US cannot back out of major treaties without irreparably harming US & ally interests.

I do think the US needs to do more to pressure NATO members to maintain minimum spending / readiness levels.

For instance, Germany has the most advance tanks in the world but only keeps a handful in service ready condition.