Not this time, please. We cannot look the other way as Donald Trump betrays our allies in Europe. We can’t dismiss it as the harmless ramblings of an eccentric character. Wars can start this way.
If you missed it, Trump said during a campaign rally on Saturday that he would not come to the defense of NATO allies who fall short on military spending, and in fact would encourage the Russians to “do whatever the hell they want.”
With that, he chipped away at one of America’s greatest strengths, our alliances with strong democracies across the world, from Germany and Poland to Australia and South Korea. Russia and China can’t match that. We have lots of friends who trust us. They don’t.
Trump has now put all of those allies in danger by raising doubts about our reliability. For China’s President Xi Jinping, hungry to swallow up Taiwan, this retreat opens a door. For Vladimir Putin, a weaker NATO is an invitation to stay the course in Ukraine, and perhaps gobble up Lithuania next, now that he has put his economy on a war footing.
“Casting doubt on the United States’ commitment to its allies sacrifices America’s greatest advantage over Russia and China, something that neither Putin nor Xi could achieve on their own,” says Douglas Lute, a retired lieutenant general who served as ambassador to NATO under President Obama.
Trump never liked NATO, and took office with no clue about how it works. When staffers explained to him that Article 5, the heart of the treaty, obliges all NATO members to rush to their mutual defense if a member state is attacked, it came as news to him.
“You mean, if Russia attacked Lithuania, we would go to war with Russia?” he asked. “That’s crazy!”
No, it’s not. It’s the chief reason we have avoided World War III. The bad guys have to know that we will fight them if they attack. By putting that in doubt, Trump is increasing the odds of war breaking out.
The Korean War serves as a warning. Dean Acheson, the Secretary of Defense in 1950, described an American “defensive perimeter” that didn’t include South Korea. North Korea invaded five months later. Europeans are wondering if Trump would put them at risk in a similar way, by signaling that Europe is outside his “defensive perimeter.”
“Any suggestion that allies will not defend each other undermines all of our security, including that of the U.S., and puts American and European soldiers at increased risk,” says Norway’s Jens Stoltenberg, NATO’s Secretary General.
Even if Trump loses the November election, this reckless talk does damage. Our allies – and not just those in NATO -- have to prepare for the possibility that they will be on their own one year from now. Will Germany build its own nuclear arsenal? How will Taiwan deter an invasion from China? How will Iran try to capitalize on the crumbling of America’s alliances?
Trump is creating instability, stirring the global pot, knocking down a world order that’s been carefully built with blood and treasure over decades.
Even now, though, the moral midgets in his cult defended him. Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said, “Give me a break, I mean it’s Trump.” Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida said Trump “doesn’t talk like a traditional politician” as if the problem were his syntax. And Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas said it’s Germany that is encouraging Russian aggression by not spending enough on its military.
Enough. One of Trump’s toxic advantages is that he floods the zone with so much bad behavior it can be numbing. He tries to steal the 2020 election and now promises pardons for the thugs of Jan. 6. He rapes Jean Carroll, then denounces her as a liar. He dines with white supremacists and calls them “fine people.” He lies, constantly, and cheats on his taxes.
But please, resist the numbness. This man is a clear and present danger to our national security.
More: Tom Moran columns
Tom Moran may be reached at tmoran@starledger.com or (973) 986-6951. Follow him on Twitter @tomamoran. Find NJ.com Opinion on Facebook.
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