Republican frontrunner says Washington can no longer afford its commitment to military alliance
Donald Trump, frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination, has questioned the US role in Nato and suggested Washington can no longer afford to maintain its commitment to the 28-member military alliance.
In an interview with the Washington Post, Mr Trump said America should focus on its domestic challenges and pay less attention to problems in other parts of the world. He also questioned whether the US should maintain its posture in Asia, which would mark a reversal from the Obama administration’s “Asia pivot”.
“We certainly can’t afford to do this any more,” Mr Trump said. “Nato is costing us a fortune … we’re protecting Europe with Nato but we’re spending a lot of money.”
Mr Trump cited South Korea and Germany as examples of countries that should assume more of the burden for providing security in their regions. “Ukraine is a country that affects us far less than it affects other countries in Nato and yet we’re doing all of the lifting,” Mr Trump said. “Why is it that Germany’s not dealing with Nato on Ukraine … Why are we always the one that’s leading, potentially, the third world war with Russia?”
His comments mark a radical departure from the foreign policy consensus in Washington towards Nato since the end of the second world war. While George W Bush proposed downsizing the US military presence in Europe early in his administration, no mainstream presidential candidate has ever suggested withdrawing from Nato.
“Trump is proposing nothing less than the liquidation of the liberal world order,” said Thomas Wright, a foreign policy expert at the Brookings Institution. “It would be a dream come true for Russia and China. Within a year they could achieve what they thought was impossible — an end to the US alliance system in Europe and Asia.”
Later, on CNN, Mr Trump said he did not want to reduce the US role in Nato, but simply wanted the country to pay less. “We are paying disproportionately,” he said. “There has to be at least a change in philosophy.”
James Stavridis, former Nato supreme commander and now dean of the Fletcher School at Tufts University, said it was crucial for the US to maintain its leadership role in the alliance. “While we all want to see European defence spending in Nato increase, it would be a mistake to give up a US leadership role in the organisation,” he said. “Nato is an absolute foundation for global security.”
Trump is proposing nothing less than the liquidation of the liberal world order
While Nato has struggled with how to reconfigure itself since the end of the cold war, it has increasingly moved into “out of area” missions, first in the Balkans and then in Afghanistan, which silenced most questions about its usefulness.
Russia’s aggressive stance in Ukraine has also reinvigorated Nato’s original purpose in the eyes of many allies, particularly Poland and the Baltic states, which see themselves as the frontline on a continent facing a new menace from Moscow.
But despite the US support, the tough stance towards Russia is not universally welcomed in Europe, where some have pushed for reconciliation with Vladimir Putin, Russian president. Mr Trump has expressed admiration for Mr Putin, a sentiment common among far-right and populist political leaders in several western European countries. Speaking in Washington, Mr Trump said: “I think it’s very nice” that Mr Putin has praised him.
