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
-
Breaking Down the Munich Security Conference with Thomas Wright
Podcast
Thomas Wright, Director of the Center on the United States and Europe at the Brookings Institution, joins Andrea Kendall-Taylor and Jim Townsend to discuss what took place at ...
By Andrea Kendall-Taylor, Jim Townsend & Thomas Wright
-
Power and Pretzels in Munich, 2020
Commentary
Once a year, the world’s foreign policy elite descend on Bavaria for a weekend to reconnect with colleagues, eat pretzels, and debate the shape of global order. The Munich Sec...
By Richard Fontaine
-
The Career Diplomat with William J. Burns
Podcast
William J. Burns, President of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and former Deputy Secretary of State, joins Andrea Kendall-Taylor and Jim Townsend to discuss the...
By Andrea Kendall-Taylor, Jim Townsend & William J. Burns
-
Digital Authoritarianism: Finding Our Way out of the Darkness
Commentary
From Chinese government surveillance in Hong Kong and Xinjiang to Russia’s sovereign internet law and concerns about foreign operatives hacking the 2020 elections, digital tec...
By Naazneen Barma, Brent Durbin & Andrea Kendall-Taylor
