NATO is the most important alliance— the most important international institution— in the history of mankind. The expectation of peace among the great powers we take for granted would not exist without it.
NATO has problems, like uneven burden sharing, a mandate that got fuzzy after the Cold War, and, yes, insufficient defense spending by allies. Every president has rightly complained about that.
But every president until now has prefaced those complaints with recognition and respect for NATOs historic role in keeping the peace and being the single most important pillar of American defense after the US military itself.
And every other president has understood the overriding importance of publicly reaffirming the Alliance to reassure allies, deter foes, and educate the American public.
Instead, Trump reassures foes, deters allies from trusting us, and misleads the American public about how the alliance functions.
The Alliance is not a protection racket. Countries don’t pay us to protect them. There are no dues.
NATO members pledge to spend two percent of GDP on defense to minimize free riding. It’s an arbitrary number but helpful as a common benchmark.
Most Allies free ride, or at least cheap ride. But since 2014 Eastern Europe at least no longer is. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine woke them up. There are no problems with free riding in Eastern Europe anymore.
And frankly if accepting a bit of free riding is the price of world peace and containing Russia, it is worth it. Do you want to gamble with great power war just to save a buck?
NATO is not charity. It is not selfless humanitarianism. It is one of the most effective forms of defense we can buy. That’s what I want the American people to understand: we’re in NATO for us, and on balance it’s a good deal.
