Peter Bergen, writing for CNN, claims Donald Trump is very serious about pulling the U.S. out of NATO. At least the headline writer thinks so. I disagree.
Has Trump been angry at countries which let us pay for their defense? Certainly. Does he want them to spend minimum 2% of GDP on defense, as they’ve agreed they will do? Again, certainly. Does he want to send a clear signal that if another NATO country isn’t serious about its defense, there is no particular reason the US should be? Of course.
The exception, of course, is Canada. We share a 3000 mile undefended border and we can’t very well let them become a Chinese satellite, even though they only spend about 1.3% of GDP on defense. They truly do have us over a barrel, with no good options. I’m sure Trump would agree.
My own belief is that Trump is trying to bully NATO members into carrying their fair share of the load, and he’s had some success in that direction. I hope he gets the chance to continue this noble work.
John Hinderaker has a good quote from NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg on this very matter.
We have to listen and take note of the following: the criticism that we hear is not primarily about Nato. It’s about Nato Allies not spending enough. And that’s a valid point… European Allies and Canada have to spend more, because we haven’t seen fair burden-sharing in the Alliance.
Precisely. With Putin raising hell, do you expect any members to bail out? I don't, and that most especially includes a Trump-led US.
