It is Time to Reassess NATO's Value
Abstract
The United States joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in 1949 with sound justification. After 1945 the Soviet Union trailed only America in economic and military strength, while Western European nations strove to rebuild their countries. As these democratic nations could not effectively defend themselves from an aggressive Soviet Union, Western Europe and North America banded together to create NATO. European nations did recover, to the extent that they now enjoy standards of living that bear no resemblance to the state of affairs existing at the time of NATO's establishment. The European Union (EU), even without the United Kingdom (UK), is one of the world's most powerful economic players, possessing a larger population and a larger economy (pre-Brexit) than does the United States. However, as many American statesmen and military leaders predicted when NATO was formed, European governments would lag in defense spending and development as long as the United States maintained troops on the continent and/or financially supported the NATO alliance. Once these predictions proved true over the following decades, successive United States (US) presidents repeatedly demanded that European countries spend more on defense. European leaders would agree in principle, but their actual financial commitments continually fell short. US leaders grudgingly bore the burden because they believed it was in their nation's interest to do so. Unfortunately, this approach, whether primarily altruistic or fundamentally self-serving, taught our European allies that no matter how little they invest in their own security, Washington will defend the continent. As NATO's largest out of area missions, Resolute Support and Kosovo Force (KFOR), potentially wind down, alliance nations again must consider the alliance's purpose and future direction.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 21, 2020
- Accession Number
- AD1160003
Entities
People
- Scott P. Brunson
Organizations
- School of Advanced Military Studies