For 76 years, NATO has kept the peace in Europe and kept Americans safer by making clear that an attack on one member is an attack on all. That deterrent only works if it is believed. The president is now undermining it, casting doubt on whether the United States would defend allies and treating the alliance as leverage rather than a commitment.
Our allies already met the demand. At last year's summit they pledged to spend as much as 5% of their economies on defense, and European governments have placed some $300 billion in orders for American-made military equipment, supporting jobs here at home. The goalposts moved anyway, from money to a personal demand for 'loyalty,' alongside threats to leave the alliance, pull troops out of Europe, and seize Greenland from a NATO ally.
Congress has a say, and it should use it. A 2023 law already bars any president from withdrawing the United States from NATO without approval by two-thirds of the Senate or an Act of Congress. I am asking you to enforce that law, to publicly reaffirm the Article 5 mutual-defense commitment, and to oppose any unilateral drawdown of U.S. forces in Europe that would hand a win to Moscow and leave America more alone in the world.
