May 26, 2017
Trump’s Article 5 Omission Was an Attack Against All of NATO
When President Trump spoke to NATO members for the first time on Thursday he failed to say the one thing Europeans were waiting to hear. He never mentioned America’s unwavering commitment to Article 5 of the NATO Treaty, which states that an attack on one is an attack on all. Twitter erupted in a storm of outrage and, for at least a few hours, #NATO was trending. Sean Spicer, responding to the criticism, stressed that even though the president didn’t say it outright, he is “fully committed” to NATO and Article 5.
Spicer’s logic? Trump’s mere presence at the dedication ceremony at the new NATO HQ was evidence enough. For folks that don’t track NATO issues on a day-to-day basis (and that’s most people), the president’s omission may not seem like a big deal. But Trump’s refusal to repeat what so many members of his own Cabinet have already stated — including his vice president — was a significant blow to the transatlantic relationship and could have lasting consequences.
Read the full article in Foreign Policy.
More from CNAS
-
Transatlantic Security / Energy, Economics & Security
LISTEN: Why It’s So Hard to Go After Russia’s Oil RevenueEmily Kilcrease, senior fellow and director of the Energy, Economics, and Security Program at the Center for a New American Security, joins the show to talk about secondary ta...
By Emily Kilcrease
-
Denmark Summons U.S. Envoy Over Alleged Greenland Operations | CNN
Jim Townsend, adjunct senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security, discusses the evolving situation with the "influence operations" in Greenland and what that coul...
By Jim Townsend
-
Ukraine Negotiations: Confusing Activity with Progress
The past week has seen a flurry of diplomacy from President Trump as he seeks to bring about a negotiated solution to Russia’s war on Ukraine. While activity has been undeniab...
By Andrea Kendall-Taylor, Jim Townsend, Samuel Charap & Dr. Angela Stent
-
Russia's Lavrov: Security Talks without Moscow a "Path to Nowhere" | CNN
Andrea Kendall-Taylor, senior fellow and program director at the Center for a New American Security, joins CNN to explain about the difficulties of negotiations are not territ...
By Andrea Kendall-Taylor