NATO
Former President Donald Trump’s remarks that he would “encourage” Russia “to do whatever the hell they want” to NATO allies that fail to meet defense spending guidelines have raised a lot of questions and drew rebuke from the White House and NATO’s leader.
“You don’t pay your bills, you get no protection. It’s very simple,” he said at a campaign event in Conway, South Carolina.
NATO data show that almost all allies are expected to meet the defense spending guidelines in 2024 — contrary to Trump’s comments.
SOURCE: https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/after-trumps-claims-nato-member-defense-spending/story?id=107226112
It should be noted that the “bills” that Trump is referring to are a commitment to spend 2% of GDP on defense. It is not a membership fee.
Why should the US be part of NATO?
Although the U.S. security guarantee for its NATO allies has been at the heart of the alliance’s political-military framework, and the United States has spent considerable sums on the maintenance of defense capabilities as a result, this has never been a one-way bargain. These treaty relationships have afforded the United States a position of strategic leadership. As a result of America’s central role in trans-Atlantic and international relations that NATO cemented, Americans have enjoyed enormous economic prosperity and freedom.
Put more bluntly: Successive American governments have been afforded privileged status when it has come to issues including trade partnerships and access to bases in large part because of the outsized role that the United States plays in the defense of its allies. Nor would the United States have been able to sustain its significant portfolio of foreign military sales and defense technology cooperation activities without the strategic foundation laid by its role as NATO’s primary security guarantor for seven decades.
This position of leadership—manifested in its overseas presence—also allows the United States to set the international security agenda in both political and practical ways. America would not have been able to, for example, prosecute expeditionary and counterterrorism operations in the Middle East and Africa were it not for the bases and pre-positioned equipment that the United States has been able to maintain on allied soil in Europe.
SOURCE: https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/06/28/us-nato-alliance-madrid/
What is NATO?
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
Security in our daily lives is key to our well-being. NATO’s purpose is to guarantee the freedom and security of its members through political and military means.
POLITICAL – NATO promotes democratic values and enables members to consult and cooperate on defense and security-related issues to solve problems, build trust and, in the long run, prevent conflict.
MILITARY – NATO is committed to the peaceful resolution of disputes. If diplomatic efforts fail, it has the military power to undertake crisis-management operations. These are carried out under the collective defense clause of NATO’s founding treaty – Article 5 of the Washington Treaty or under a United Nations mandate, alone or in cooperation with other countries and international organizations.
Who are member countries?
SOURCE: https://www.nato.int/nato-welcome/
Albania (2009) Germany (1955) Norway (1949) Belgium (1949) Greece (1952) Poland (1999) Bulgaria (2004) Hungary (1999) Portugal (1949) Canada (1949) Iceland (1949) Romania (2004) Croatia (2009) Italy (1949) Slovakia (2004) Czechia (1999) Latvia (2004) Slovenia (2004) Denmark (1949) Lithuania (2004) Spain (1982) Estonia (2004) Luxembourg (1949) Sweden (2024) Finland (2023) Montenegro (2017) Türkiye (1952) France (1949) Netherlands (1949) United Kingdom (1949) North Macedonia (2020) United States (1949)
