Ugly though all this is, there's also
something deeper going on. Trump says he doesn't want to break the NATO
alliance but strengthen it by demanding bigger defence efforts by the other
members.
And, according to the NATO secretary-general, Jens Stoltenberg, it's working:
"The good news is that allies have started to invest more in
defence," Stoltenberg said at a press conference with Trump last week.
Under the pressure of Trump's bluster and threats, the NATO allies have been
stung into action. "After years of cutting defence budgets, they have
started to add billions to their defence budgets," said Stoltenberg.
"And last year was the biggest increase in defense spending across Europe
and Canada in that generation. And your message is having an impact."
The US is at the centre of
an alliance system embracing some 40 countries, the sum of which is greater
than the individual parts. China has nothing like it, able to count only North
Korea and Pakistan as allies.
And, contrary to appearances, the Trump administration's national defence
strategy published by the Pentagon this year affirms the importance of the
alliance structure on page 2: "Our network of alliances and partnerships
remain the backbone of global security."
It's entirely possible that Trump's tactics could seriously hurt some
American alliances, but the institution that operates the security
relationships – the Department of Defence – is doing its best to preserve and
strengthen them where it can.
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