To survive the wave of criticism coming from the United States, a new form of alliance must emerge – and as soon as possible, argues Ivo Daalder, former US ambassador to NATO, currently a researcher at the Belfer Center of Harvard University and presenter of the weekly podcast “World Review with Ivo Daalder”, in Politico.
As the pressures exerted by President Donald Trump on the North Atlantic Alliance intensify, experts warn that NATO must undergo a radical transformation to remain relevant. Ivo Daalder, former US ambassador to NATO, analyzes the prospects of an organization that might find itself having to operate without the traditional American leadership.
The question dominating Western chancelleries is an existential one: can NATO still be saved? The answer seems to be affirmative, but with a crucial caveat — it will no longer be the alliance we have known for the last 77 years.
A part of the American president’s hostility was expected. Trump has been speaking with contempt about the U.S. security alliances for decades, dating back to his famous 1990 interview with Playboy magazine, when he demanded allies to pay America for the security provided. As a real estate mogul, Trump believed that the burdens of alliances outweigh the benefits – an opinion he maintained as president, notes the former ambassador.
In 2017, Trump declared that NATO is “outdated”. More recently, he called the Alliance a “paper tiger” and “useless”. And now, when NATO allies refuse to join his attack against Iran – some even denying American military access to their airspace and their bases – the president has gone even further.
For Trump, the war with Iran was a test for NATO, and the alliance failed it.
“We will remember,” he said, insisting that “we will come to their aid, but they will never come to our aid.” And when asked if he would consider withdrawing from the alliance, he replied that it is “beyond any reconsideration.”
However, political commentators believe that Trump cannot implement this threat without the approval of Congress. It is true that a law from 2023, co-initiated by then-Senator – now Secretary of State Marco Rubio – prohibits the president from withdrawing the USA from NATO without a two-thirds vote in the Senate or without a law passed by Congress. Neither scenario is likely.
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