Tag Archives: North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)

Why Are We In NATO?

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The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was founded on 4 April 1949. Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the United Kingdom and the United States signed the treaty. Since its founding, Greece, West Germany, Turkey, Spain, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Albania, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Finland and Sweden have joined. Since its founding, no country has left the organization.

On April 1, The Conservative Treehouse posted an article about NATO’s current actions.

The article reports:

The U.S. supports our NATO posture in Europe in part because it provides us with strategic military bases and operations that are considered vital to our national interests. However, as outlined in the Iran conflict, when we need to use those strategic bases the NATO member states withdraw previous permissions. France has blocked us from flying over their airspace, Spain and Italy have said the U.S. cannot use our military bases on their soil for operations. The U.K has refused to protect and/or escort their own energy assets.

The NATO membership is now a one-way street where they demand our military protection, but Europe blocks us from using our own military assets for our independent operations.

Europe, while hiding behind the NATO protection skirt of the U.S, is simultaneously telling the U.S. what we can and cannot do with our own military. Secretary Rubio and President Trump are now confronting this very visible one-way benefit head on.

The article includes the following video:

America has been protecting Europe since World War II. Our military bases there boost the local economies. The decision of some of the NATO counties to deny the use of bases in their countries to deal with the threat of Iran makes it very hard to justify our continued membership in the organization. I think Europe needs to understand the threat posed to them by Iran (if Iran’s missiles can reach Diego Garcia, they can reach Europe) and help with the war effort. Europe is much more dependent on the Strait of Hormuz for its oil than America is. It’s time for the NATO nations to step up to the plate. Otherwise, why should America be a member?

Seems A Little Ungrateful

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It is very disheartening to some Americans that when the members of the  North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) were asked to help secure the Strait of Hormuz they seemed disinterested. America has been the main funder and defender of NATO since it was formed, and the lack of support for America in ending Iranian terrorism was disappointing. However, things happen, and NATO members seem to be changing their tune.

On Wednesday, Red State reported:

As we reported, President Donald Trump asked our NATO allies and others to help contribute to a coalition of escort ships to help ensure safe passage in the Strait of Hormuz.

But he was rebuffed by some of the NATO allies, like Germany, who said that they didn’t start the military action, so why should they be involved? These are some of the same folks who thought the United States should pay endlessly for Ukraine, despite that not being “our war.’

They had a bit of a karmic wake-up call when the hotel where their European Union Advisory Mission is housed was hit by an Iran-backed drone in Baghdad.

But now Trump is also calling their bluff, because the bottom line is that the U.S. ships very little through the Strait — it’s far more important to others. So Trump posted on Truth Social that if allies want to play the weak-kneed weasel game, maybe the U.S. should just not provide any escorts, and just let the countries that use it be responsible for it.

The article notes:

“I have been in contact with many allies,” Rutte (NATO SecGen Mark Rutte) said during a NATO exercise in Norway.

“We all agree, of course, that Strait has to open up again. And what I know is that allies are working together, discussing how to do that, what is the best way to do it. They’re working on that collectively to find a way forward.”

Rutte also explained the ballistic missile and nuclear capability had been “severely degraded.”

Gee, what happened to “We didn’t start it”? Sounds like Trump shamed them into movement. Rutte gets Trump, so he knows they have to pony up.

Others are showing up some of our European allies. As we reported, India is providing warships to protect their own ships; it is one of the biggest shippers through the Strait, along with China.

…The United Arab Emirates may join a U.S.-led effort to protect shipping in the Strait of Hormuz after Iran all but shut the vital waterway to ships as Tehran wages war with Israel and ‌the United States, a senior Emirati official said on Tuesday.

Anwar Gargash, the diplomatic adviser to the UAE president, said talks were ongoing and no formal plan had been agreed, but that “big countries” in Asia, the Middle East, and Europe bore responsibility for ensuring the flow of trade and energy.

Iran has made a number of strategic mistakes during this war. One of those mistakes was attacking their neighbors who were attempting to remain neutral. I see good things in the future for the people of Iran, but not so good things in the future for the current leaders of Iran.

With Friends Like These…

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It has long been understood that the purpose of NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) was to bring American military might into the picture if Europe was attacked. There really wasn’t much point in bringing European military might into the picture if America was attacked because Europe doesn’t have a lot of military might. So America was the big brother ready to fight off the bully. Under President Trump, European nations have done better at paying their share of their defense, but generally America has footed the bill. You would think that they might appreciate the protection. Obviously, they do not.

On March 6th, Red State reported:

Does being an European “ally” of America even mean anything anymore? That’s a valid question after several NATO nations not only initially denied the use of their military bases during Operation Epic Fury, the ongoing attack on Iran, but also offered tacit support for the Islamic regime.

The article includes an X post that includes a statement from Spain’s Prime Minister:

Spain’s far-left Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez on the US and Israel military operation in Iran: “Today more than ever, it is essential to remember that one can be against a hateful regime and at the same time be against an unjustified, dangerous military intervention outside of international law. […] That is where Spain will be, and that is where I believe the whole of the European Union should be.”

The article notes:

Given Spain’s history over the last century or so, it wasn’t exactly surprising that they’d take the side of Islamic fascists over the country that pays for their defense. The Western European country once again fell woefully short of its NATO spending requirements in 2025 while continuing to expand its welfare state, a dynamic that has been allowed to exist for far too long.

You’d expect better from the United Kingdom, though. Well, at least up until fairly recently. After all, the Brits are supposedly America’s closest, most reliable ally. Yet, in a stunning move, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer denied the use of his country’s military bases for logistical support. Further, he refused to mobilize any forces for defensive operations in the weeks before Iran’s missile and drone barrages began.

That proved disastrous, with several Gulf allies lambasting Starmer for hanging them out to dry, even as hundreds of thousands of British nationals were coming under attack.

The article concludes:

I’m going to be frank. The United States can not have a “closest ally” that can’t even be counted on to provide defensive support from ballistic missiles because they are too busy arguing over the finer points of something as irrelevant as “international law.” At no point did the Trump administration ask Starmer to participate in the offensive attacks on Iran. All that was requested was help in suppressing the Islamic regime’s attacks on civilians. That the UK didn’t immediately oblige and instead spent days playing politics, even as the missiles fell, is a damning indictment of a once special relationship. 

Never mind that the Brits have allowed their once world-leading navy to waste away into a mostly dry-docked, ineffectual fleet. To the extent that they could even launch defensive assets, such as destroyers with anti-ballistic missile systems, that ability remains severely restricted. 

This isn’t complicated, in my view. If you’re a NATO nation that suckles at the teat of the American taxpayer for your defense needs while you blow all your money on social programs, there should be an expectation that you do the bare minimum when we ask for assistance. If that’s not going to happen, then it’s time to start reassessing some of these alliances. 

Western civilization is on its deathbed in Europe and England.

Good News

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President Trump has negotiated a framework to set up a security deal with Greenland.

On Wednesday, Townhall posted the contents of a post on X by President Trump:

Based upon a very productive meeting that I have had with the Secretary General of NATO, Mark Rutte, we have formed the framework of a future deal with respect to Greenland and, in fact, the entire Arctic Region. This solution, if consummated, will be a great one for the United States of America, and all NATO Nations. Based upon this understanding, I will not be imposing the Tariffs that were scheduled to go into effect on February 1st. Additional discussions are being held concerning The Golden Dome as it pertains to Greenland. Further information will be made available as discussions progress. Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, and various others, as needed, will be responsible for the negotiations — They will report directly to me. Thank you for your attention to this matter! DONALD J. TRUMP PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

This is about security. The Golden Dome will protect the United States and Canada. It is an advanced version of the iron dome system used by the Israelis. It is a defensive system–it stops incoming weapons–it does not launch offensive weapons other than the ones aimed at incoming weapons. Setting up that system will be good news not only for North America, but for the world.