NATO is the cornerstone of United States national security

Eight US ambassadors to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and eight former generals who served in senior command at US bases operating in Europe, issued a joint letter demanding Washington’s continued commitment to NATO. They described NATO as “the cornerstone of the national security of the United States,” and that it plays a vital role in preserving American interests in the world.

The signatories of the letter, who belong to both the Republican and Democratic parties and who served under all US presidents, from 1997 until last year, affirmed that NATO “is not a charitable institution in any way,” but rather it is a “force multiplier” that makes the United States able to extend and protect its influence and authority “in ways that are impossible to achieve, or that would be very costly if Washington were to do it alone, in isolation from the other powers participating in the alliance.”

The group that wrote the letter chose to time its issuance on the date of the Munich Security Conference, which will be held this year, in an atmosphere of tension and mistrust between America and its traditional allies in Europe, in addition to questions about US President Donald Trump’s commitment to the security of Europe and to NATO, after his demand to seize the island of Greenland belonging to the state of Denmark, which is a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

Officials in the Trump administration said that the United States will remain committed to NATO and the principle of mutual defense.

They stressed that European allies, for their part, must make more efforts and spending to share the burden of traditional deterrence in Europe, and not rely entirely on Washington, in light of the United States facing new challenges in the Indo-Pacific region.

Trump credits himself with urging NATO allies to increase their spending on defense, in order to cover part of the military spending that the United States bears to protect Europe.

But European doubts about the United States’ commitment are increasing, especially since Trump tends to support the Russian position in the negotiations aimed at stopping the war in Ukraine.

One of the ambassadors, who helped write the letter, Ivo H. Daalder, said that with “President Trump and others raising questions about the value of NATO and the extraordinary contribution made by our allies in Afghanistan, Iraq and other recent wars that the United States has fought, we thought it was important to get a clear and documented statement about how important NATO is to American security, and the free world in general.”

He added that the message also aims to emphasize to the Europeans “the broad, bipartisan support for NATO that still exists in the United States today.”

Among the senior Republican officials who signed the letter was Kay Bailey Hutchinson, who was a NATO ambassador during Trump’s first term, in addition to all NATO ambassadors who served during the presidencies of George W. Bush and Bill Clinton.

Among the senior generals who signed the letter were those who served during Trump’s first term.

The signatories of the letter stressed that, from their point of view, NATO serves American interests, just as American soldiers deployed in Europe do, who provide the base for American operations “in Africa, the Middle East, and Central Asia.” In addition, the signatories say: “NATO’s true value lies in deploying non-US resources to support the security of US targets, which includes securing global trade routes.”

In general, the signatories of the letter argue that abandoning or replacing NATO would cost the United States a lot of money and influence in the world. They say that NATO is “a strategic agreement that ensures that the United States remains the strongest and most economically secure country in the world at a cost much lower than what it would cost to act alone.” About the New York Times

• The signatories of the letter argue that abandoning or replacing NATO would cost the United States a lot of money and influence in the world.

• Officials in the Trump administration stressed that European allies, for their part, must make more efforts and spending to share the burden of traditional deterrence in Europe, and not rely entirely on Washington.