NATO Isn’t “Obsolete” — But It’s Not Ready
Proceedings Magazine - May 2017 Vol.
By F. G.
Hoffman
Then-President-elect Donald Trump startled U.S. alliance partners in Europe when he described NATO as “obsolete.” He really unnerved them by suggesting future U.S. commitments to defend members of that alliance might be conditional, depending on whether they had met their obligations to adequately fund their own defenses. Nonetheless, several senior U.S. policymakers traveled to Europe this February to reassure NATO allies that the United States would stand by its commitments. Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis was reassuring. At the annual Munich Security Conference, he noted, “President Trump came into office and has thrown now his full support to NATO .” But he also repeated a concern about the shared obligations of NATO members, observing bluntly, “It is a fair demand that all who benefit from the best alliance in the world carry their proportionate share of the necessary costs to defend our freedoms.”
https://www.usni.org/magazines/proceedings/2017-05/nato-isn%E2%80%99t-%E2%80%9Cobsolete%E2%80%9D-%E2%80%94-it%E2%80%99s-not-ready
