Donald Trump threatens to no longer apply the flagship principle of the NATO treaty, namely Article 5, which stipulates that‘an attack against one member of the military alliance will be considered an attack against all members.
This threat is justified by the fact that several NATO member countries do not respect the obligation to participate in the financing of the organization to the tune of 2% of their GDP. Canada is one of those delinquent countries when it comes to financing.
Known and recognized inequity
The United States, for its part, bears more than 50% of NATO’s expenses, while many countries do not respect the agreement. Although we can criticize Donald Trump as out of touch, isolationist, populist and dangerous, we must admit that he is not wrong when he points out that Washington can no longer absorb all the costs and allow other states to benefit from NATO protection without making a financial commitment to the organization.
But Donald Trump doesn’t stop there. He goes further. Too far even. He promises to encourage the enemies of NATO members to go after those who do not pay enough in his eyes. And that is the whole problem with his rhetoric.
It harms his message
It is entirely legitimate to recall that the strength of the military alliance is measured by the capacity of all of its members to do their part, but it is absolutely irresponsible to declare that an enemy could be encouraged to attack. Moreover, it is on this point that he is criticized today, not necessarily on the substance of his thinking.
Defense and military alliances cannot be electoral arguments. Western security cannot be a partisan pawn for Trump. The solidity of NATO cannot be threatened, in time of war, by a potential American president.
Donald Trump missed an opportunity to follow through on a legitimate and factually rigorous demand by turning it into an attack on NATO. Such a waste!