Opinion : Letter to the Editor: Trump and NATO

Dear Editor,

Donald Trump has admitted that he did not know anything about NATO before taking office. Story HERE.

Think about that for a moment. Most people have at least a working knowledge of NATO and for someone so intelligent as Trump, who claims with a supposed intelligence gene pool from a now deceased MIT professor uncle, one would assume that he would know something about NATO. But what is really concerning as a candidate and then leader of world he did not educate himself on anything relating to governing. In true Trump fashion he went from not knowing what NATO is to being an expert in seconds flat and as he would say, "no one knows more about NATO than he does."

But alas here it is: A SHORT HISTORY OF NATO https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/declassified_139339.htt

It is often said that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization was founded in response to the threat posed by the Soviet Union. This is only partially true. In fact, the Alliance's creation was part of a broader effort to serve three purposes: deterring Soviet expansionism, forbidding the revival of nationalist militarism in Europe through a strong North American presence on the continent, and encouraging European political integration.

The aftermath of World War II saw much of Europe devastated in a way that is now difficult to envision. Approximately 36.5 million Europeans had died in the conflict, 19 million of them civilians. Refugee camps and rationing dominated daily life. In some areas, infant mortality rates were one in four. Millions of orphans wandered the burnt-out shells of former metropolises. In the German city of Hamburg alone, half a million people were homeless.

In addition, Communists aided by the Soviet Union were threatening elected governments across Europe. In February 1948, the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, with covert backing from the Soviet Union, overthrew the democratically elected government in that country. Then, in reaction to the democratic consolidation of West Germany, the Soviets blockaded Allied-controlled West Berlin in a bid to consolidate their hold on the German capital. The heroism of the Berlin Airlift provided future Allies with some solace, but privation remained a grave threat to freedom and stability.
Article 5 "The Parties agree that an armed attack against one or more of them in Europe or North America shall be considered an attack against them all and consequently they agree that, if such an armed attack occurs, each of them, in exercise of the right of individual or collective self-defense recognized by Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations, will assist the Party or Parties so attacked by taking forthwith, individually and in concert with the other Parties, such action as it deems necessary, including the use of armed force, to restore and maintain the security of the North Atlantic area.

The NATO alliance was signed on April 9,1949 by 12 European and North American countries. NATO has been in force for 75 years and has grown to total of 32 countries. At its inception, America was considered the leader of the free world and our nation readily accepted that role. As a collective, NATO came together with compassion and empathy for people in Europe who bore the enormous burden of a World War. America has not even considered shirking from this responsibility until Trump.

On the evening of 12 September 2001, NATO invoked the principle of Article 5 for the first time in its history. https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/declassified_137121.htm NATO countries; Australia, Canada, Denmark, France, Italy, Netherlands, New Zealand, and Norway provided troops to fight in the War on Terror which resulted in 1,468 aggregate deaths.

Instead of educating himself on the history and importance of NATO, Trump went headlong onto the world's stage and has not only made a spectacle of himself and embarrassment to the US but created dangerous uncertainty with our allies. He refuses to understand the funding mechanisms of NATO. Earlier Trump stated that if a NATO country had not paid his perception of a bill that if Putin would invade that country Trump would tell Putin to do whatever the hell Putin wanted to do without defending that country.

Trump has floated the idea that if he is elected again that America's role in NATO might be reduced or eliminated altogether. American leadership at NATO's inception through today believe that it is in America's interest to support our allies to ensure the future safety of the free world because if all stand together, we all reap the rewards containing bad actors such as Putin from invading the NATO countries. The uncertainty Trump brings to NATO should not only concern NATO nations but concern Americans who understand the importance of NATO as a vital alliance for the world.

Rosemary Schwart