April 07, 2019
From Truman to Trump, why Kansas City matters to NATO
Last week in Washington, D.C., representatives from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s 29 member states marked the 70th anniversary of the transatlantic alliance. They celebrated the stability it has fostered and the shared democratic values so important to its membership. It was a time to reflect on NATO’s successes, but also its future and the new questions that animate debate on both sides of the Atlantic.
All this might seem quite removed from Kansas City and its environs, but to conclude so would be to ignore history. Winston Churchill gave his famous “Iron Curtain” speech in Fulton, Missouri, presaging the descent of the United States and Europe into Cold War. The Kansas City suburb of Independence was home to Harry Truman, and just a two-hour drive away is the birthplace of Dwight D. Eisenhower in Abilene, Kansas. These leaders understood the dangers facing the transatlantic democracies and the need to exercise allied leadership in their defense. NATO today stands among their greatest accomplishments.
We lead two Washington-based national security think tanks keenly interested in the discussion among Americans about their country’s foreign policy. Our institutions, the Center for a New American Security and the German Marshall Fund of the United States, have teamed up to get “outside the Beltway,” to talk, in this case, with Missourians about the broad questions attending America’s role in a rapidly changing world. This week we will hold a free public session, “NATO at 70,” Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. at the Truman Library. We will also have private meetings with an array of local officials and others, including several visiting European officials.
We aim to speak, to discuss and to listen. The transatlantic alliance will be among the chief topics on which we hope to focus.
Read the full article in The Kansas City Star.
More from CNAS
-
Discussing Turkey’s Offensive Against the Kurds in Syria with Nick Heras
Podcast
The United States’ withdrawal and the Turkish military’s incursion into the Kurdish-controlled northeast have completely changed the balance of power in Syria. Without America...
By Andrea Kendall-Taylor, Jim Townsend & Nicholas Heras
-
The Transatlantic Alliance at 70 with NATO's Camille Grand
Podcast
Camille Grand, NATO Assistant Secretary General for Defense Investment, joins Dr. Andrea Kendall-Taylor and Jim Townsend to discuss the 70th anniversary of NATO and the challe...
By Andrea Kendall-Taylor, Jim Townsend & Camille Grand
-
Why Europe Won't Combat Huawei's Trojan Tech
Commentary
The United States has been unsuccessful at getting European countries to ban Huawei from building their fifth-generation wireless (5G) networks. It’s not for a lack of trying....
By Carisa Nietsche & Bolton Smith
-
France and European Security with Dr. Alice Pannier
Podcast
Dr. Alice Pannier, Assistant Professor of International Relations and European Studies at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, joins Dr. Andrea Kendall-Tayl...
By Andrea Kendall-Taylor, Jim Townsend & Dr. Alice Pannier
