The Case For A Managed U.S. Exit From NATO – OpEd |
Trump has escalated criticism of NATO allies, not only for chronic under-spending on defense (despite pledges of 2% and later 5% of GDP), but also for failing to support the recent U.S.-Israeli strike on Iran.
The article argues that jawboning allies is ineffective because the U.S. nuclear and conventional umbrella removes their incentive to spend more, while Europe’s combined economy is now far stronger than Russia’s.
A better long-term solution proposed is a gradual U.S. withdrawal from NATO over two years, allowing Europe to take full responsibility for its own defense and enabling the U.S. to cut its massive defense budget and address its deficits.
At the NATO summit in Türkiye, President Donald Trump added a new arrow of accusation to his quiver. For years now, he has rightfully complained and badgered his European allies to spend more on defense. This was because, since its inception in 1949, NATO, like many security alliances, has had a free-rider problem. Even during the Cold War, the potential enemy, the Soviet Union, posed a greater threat to Western Europe than to the faraway United States, given the United States’ inherent geographic security. Yet, as the leader of the alliance, the United States deliberately protected Western European countries so they could recover from the physical and economic damage caused by World War II. However, free riding has continued long after European countries became........