Baltic states

• Former President Donald Trump has long made it clear that he deeply resents NATO, a 75-year-old military alliance that is composed of the United States and 30 other countries, including Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany and France.
• The central idea behind NATO’s existence, as explained in Article 5 of NATO’s 1949 treaty, is that all NATO countries agree to defend any other NATO country in case of an attack.
• NATO has no standing army and relies on member countries to volunteer their military forces to carry out any operation.
• So all NATO countries agree to spend 2% of their annual gross domestic product on military defense in order to support NATO.
• Here are three major benefits for the U.S. that come with NATO membership:

1. NATO gives the US reliable allies

• Yet, without its allies in Asia, and above all without those in Europe, the U.S would be a much diminished superpower.
• NATO provides the U.S. with a leadership position in one of the strongest military alliance networks in the world.
• The U.S. considers economically strong countries like Canada, Germany, France, Italy and many other established democracies as its friends and allies.
• NATO has invoked Article 5 only once – immediately after the U.S. was attacked on Sept. 11, 2001.
• America’s NATO allies were ready to come to the aid of the U.S. – and, for good or for bad, many subsequently participated in the United States’ war in Afghanistan.

2. NATO provides peace and stability

• NATO provides a blanket of protection and mutual security for all its members, helping explain why the vast majority of countries in central and eastern Europe clamored to join NATO after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991.
• Invading a NATO country would bring the entire alliance into a war with Russia, which would be a risky gamble for Moscow.

3. NATO has helped the US get stronger

• NATO, on the other hand, is a voluntary military alliance, and countries must go through a demanding application process before they are accepted.
• The United States’ current presence in Europe – and Asia – has not been imposed by force.
• By joining NATO and accepting the military leadership of Washington, the other NATO countries give the U.S. unprecedented influence and power.
• Norwegian scholar Geir Lundestad called this an “empire by invitation.” This informal empire has deeply anchored the U.S. and its influence in Europe.

A split in opinion

• Biden has repeatedly warned Putin that he would face the consequences if Russia attacks a NATO member.
• For Trump, however, transatlantic solidarity and mutual defense appear to count for nothing.
• For him, it seems to be all about the money and whether or not NATO countries spend 2% of their GDP on defense.
• Trump does not view Putin’s Russia as an existential threat to the U.S.-led global order.

Klaus W. Larres does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

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