Formed in 1949, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s original purpose was to provide collective security against Soviet aggression, deter Soviet expansionism in Europe, and prevent the revival of German militarism. It aimed to promote political integration and stabilize the region through a strong U.S. presence after World War II. 

Its founding members were the United States, Canada, Great Britain, France, Belgium Denmark, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, and Portugal. Subsequently 20 additional nations were added, the last two being Finland and Sweden.

At the beginning of the war with Iran, several fellow NATO nations placed restrictions on the U.S. military. Spain closed its airspace and denied the use of two jointly operated bases at Rota and Moron dela Frontera. France blocked overflights of aircraft flying U.S. military supplies to Israel and Italy denied landing rights at the jointly operated Sigonella Air Base on Sicily.

President Donald Trump was understandably frustrated by this lack of cooperation from our supposed allies who in a matter of months might have been candidates for nuclear blackmail by Iran had we not seriously degraded, if not destroyed Iran’s Nuclear and ballistic missile capabilities.

The excuses given for this lack of cooperation centered on a fear of retaliation by Iran who threatened any nation who allowed its territory to be used for attacks. Allies also cited a lack of international law justifying the attacks and Spain, France, and Italy argued that because the U.S. had not been attacked they were under no obligation to come to our aid. Finally, several nations, including Portugal, felt that a diplomatic solution should be sought.

In the end it was the old NATO represented by France, Spain, and Italy who weaseled their way out of giving even minor assistance to the U.S. effort to emasculate the foremost supporter of international terrorism in the world. Government sources have indicated the U.S. did receive substantial assistance from new NATO members including Sweden, Finland, the Baltic States, and Poland.

The point to remember is the U.S. was not asking NATO to invoke Article 5, which states that an attack on one member is an attack on all but only to allow our military aircraft to use their airspace or to use our bases in member countries to support the war.

Not only was Trump upset and frustrated by some of our NATO partners but so was Secretary of War Pete Hegseth who declined to reaffirm the U.S. commitment to Article 5 suggesting that our NATO allies restrict our military operation could forfeit their claim to protection by the U.S. Further Secretary of State Marco Rubio openly questioned the value of NATO and whether we should retain our extensive network of European bases.

NATO was formed to provide a system of mutual security in the event of an attack by the former Soviet Union. Today, except for its nuclear armed intercontinental missile force, which still pose a serious threat, Russia’s ground forces have shown themselves to be a paper tiger. This was evidenced by the fact that while their forces were equipped and supplied for a four-day campaign to subjugate Ukraine in February 2022 that war is now in its fourth year.

The “cold war” with the Soviet bloc is over, but we face a China whose goal is to replace the U.S. as the world’s dominant economic and military power. China’s official goal is to become a “modern socialist country” by 2049, the 100th anniversary of the People’s Republic, aiming to be a prosperous, strong global leader. While not always publicly setting a date to “replace” the U.S., official plans and economic projections suggest China aims to surpass the US as the world’s largest economy and premier power by 2050 at the latest. 

While Chinese officials often characterize this goal as the “great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation” rather than a hostile “replacement” of the U.S., international analysts and internal Chinese military literature suggest a more hostile and competitive attitude towards the U.S. 

In response to the threat posed by China the U.S. is bolstering alliances with Japan, South Korea, Australia, and the Philippines, often participating in joint military exercises and security agreements with those nations. The U.S. is also participating in the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue an informal strategic forum focused on the Indo-Pacific region. It is comprised of four nations: the United States, India, Japan, and Australia.  The U.S. is also a member of the AUKUS pact (U.S., UK, Australia), aimed at security cooperation in technology and maritime fields.

Washington also wants to deepen its partnerships with The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) that currently comprises 11 member states as a means of balancing China’s economic weight by offering alternatives to trade dependence on China and investing in critical technologies.

As the U.S. focuses more on the Indo-Pacific region to counter the threat from China its role in NATO is changing. The U.S. role in NATO is evolving from that of being the primary provider of European security to a more limited role pushing European allies to take primary responsibility for their own defense. The U.S. is also pushing for greater spending on defense by member nations with reports suggesting a target of spending 5% of GDP on defense, rather than the previous 2% goal.

Meanwhile U.S. forces will continue reducing their footprint in Europe to focus on the Indo-Pacific. Finally, the U.S. is pushing NATO to play a more active role in the Indo-Pacific, though this is met with internal member-state resistance.

I do not believe that the United States will ever desert NATO because even with the threat from China, our government understands that the security and stability of Europe remains important to our nation. 

Thomas Kirkpatrick Sr. is a Silver Creek resident. Send comments to editorial@observertoday.com