NATO survives an another day
Behind all the backslapping and bonhomie, it’s impossible to ignore the real concerns and fears that now fully penetrate the alliance.
Marco Rubio called it the “Trump Summit.” Trump himself came away impressed, if not changed, from The Hague NATO Summit. “I left here differently. I -- I left here saying, ‘These people really love their countries. It’s not a rip-off.’ And we are here to help them protect their country.”
But behind all the smiles and warm words, it’s impossible to ignore that something fundamental has changed in the NATO Alliance. Trump views the world — and the role of alliances like NATO — very differently than the 31 other NATO leaders who joined him for less than 24 hours in The Hague.
Most importantly, it’s difficult to gloss over the vast difference in how alliance members view the threat posed by Russia. While the brief statement agreed by leaders calls Russia a “long-term threat,” this language is considerably toned down compared to last year’s statement, which called it “the most significant and direct threat to Allies’ security.” And when asked directly whether he agreed President Vladimir Putin was “an adversary,” Trump deflected.
Shared threat perception forms the very core of a military alliance — and disagreements about the nature of the Russian (and, before that, Soviet) threat have often led to crises. But the U.S. had never before led the effort to downplay the military challenge from the East.
Of course, these differences in threat perception also inform the alliance’s policy toward Ukraine — a country that’s been the victim of Russia’s aggression for over a decade now. Trump sees this war as a purely “European situation” and has given up on his rather short-lived effort to end the conflict. But for most Europeans, Ukraine and its security are integral to peace on their continent. And despite Trump firmly closing NATO’s door to Kyiv, Secretary-General Mark Rutte and other allied leaders insist its path to membership is “irreversible.”
It’s not just the main threat to NATO that Trump sees differently, though. He has also called the idea that security within the alliance is indivisible — that one ally’s security depends on the security of all allies — into question.
Read the entire article on Politico.eu.