President Donald Trump on Thursday expressed uncertainty that NATO would come to the United States’ defence if the country were attacked, leading French President Emmanuel Macron to respond that France was a “loyal and faithful” US ally.
Article 5, the alliance’s defence guarantee, was invoked following the September 11 terror attacks on the US, leading to NATO’s largest operation in Afghanistan – an operation that involved the French military. It is the only time the defence guarantee has been invoked in NATO’s history.
Trump also suggested that the US might abandon its commitments to the alliance if member countries don’t meet defence spending targets, a day after his pick for NATO ambassador assured senators that the administration’s commitment to the military alliance was “ironclad”.
Read moreEU leaders vow to re-arm Europe amid US retreat on Ukraine
Trump’s comments denigrating NATO, which was formed with the stated aim of providing collective security against the Soviet Union during the Cold War, are largely in line with his years-long criticism of the alliance, which he has accused of not paying its fair share towards the cost of defence.
But they come at a time of heightened concern in the Western world over Trump’s conciliatory outreach to Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has long seen NATO as a threat, and as the US president seeks to pressure Ukraine into agreeing to a peace deal with the country that invaded it three years ago.
Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth sent the alliance into upheaval last month when he said in a speech that the US would not participate in any peacekeeping force in Ukraine, which is not a NATO member, and would not defend any country that participated in it if attacked by Russia.
Trump said Thursday in the Oval Office that other countries would not come to the defence of the US – though they have done exactly that, in the only instance that the Article 5 defence guarantee was invoked.
“You know the biggest problem I have with NATO? I really, I mean, I know the guys very well. They’re friends of mine. But if the United States was in trouble, and we called them, we said, ‘We got a problem, France. We got a problem, couple of others I won’t mention.’ Do you think they’re going to come and protect us? They’re supposed to. I’m not so sure.”
“We are loyal and faithful allies,” Macron responded Thursday, expressing “respect and friendship” towards US leaders.
“I think we’re entitled to expect the same,” he said.
Read moreCan Europe go it alone? Future of NATO in doubt as Trump turns on Ukraine
Macron invoked “centuries-old history,” namechecking the Marquis de Lafayette, a 19-year-old French nobleman, who was a major-general in the American Continental Army during the Revolutionary War, and Gen. John Pershing, commander of the American army in France during World War I. Macron added that a few days ago, he met American World War II veterans who landed on Omaha Beach as part of the D-Day invasion of Nazi-occupied France.
France and the US “have always been there for each other”, Macron said.
Trump, when asked Thursday if it he was making it US policy that the US would not defend NATO countries that don’t meet military spending targets, said: “Well, I think it’s common sense, right? If they don’t pay, I’m not going to defend them. No, I’m not going to defend them.”
Trump has suggested since his 2016 presidential campaign that the US under his leadership might not comply with the alliance’s mutual defence guarantees and would only defend countries that met targets to commit 2 percent of their gross domestic products on military spending.
The US is the most powerful nation of the seven-decade alliance, has the largest economy among members and spends more on defence than any other member.
The US was one of 12 nations that formed NATO following World War II. Its membership has since grown to 32 countries, and its bedrock mutual defence guarantee, known as Article 5, states that an attack on one member is considered an attack on all.
Full speech: Macron calls for major European rearmament
One of your browser extensions seems to be blocking the video player from loading. To watch this content, you may need to disable it on this site.
Trump on Thursday also seemed to suggest the US commitment to NATO might be leveraged in his trade war as he seeks to target what he says are unfair trade policies with other nations, including the European Union.
“I view NATO as potentially good, but you’ve got to get, you’ve got to get some good thinking in NATO. It’s very unfair, what’s been happening,” Trump said. “Until I came along, we were paying close to 100 percent of NATO. So think of it, we’re paying 100 percent of their military, and they’re screwing us on trade.”
On Wednesday, Trump’s choice for NATO ambassador, Matt Whitaker, said at his confirmation hearing that in regards to the US commitment to the NATO alliance and specifically Article 5, “it will be ironclad”.
Last year, NATO’s Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said a record 23 of NATO’s 32 member nations had hit the military alliance’s defence spending target.
Trump has taken credit for countries meeting those targets because of his threats, and Stoltenberg himself has said Trump was responsible for getting other nations to increase their spending.
(FRANCE 24 with AP)
Leave a Comment