HANS BINNENDIJK is a Distinguished Fellow at the Atlantic Council. He was Senior Director for Defense Policy at the National Security Council, Vice President of the National Defense University, and Legislative Director for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
R. D. HOOKER, JR., is a Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council. He was Dean of the NATO Defense College and Senior Director for Europe and Russia at the National Security Council.
ALEXANDER VERSHBOW is a Distinguished Fellow at the Atlantic Council and a Senior Adviser at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perry World House. He was U.S. Ambassador to NATO and Russia, Assistant Secretary of Defense, and NATO Deputy Secretary-General.
A Ukrainian serviceman at a press conference of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, Kyiv, April 2024
Thomas Peter / Reuters
Last month, NATO, the world’s most successful military alliance, celebrated its 75th anniversary. Some fear that it may have been its last anniversary with the United States playing a leading role. Former U.S. President Donald Trump still views the alliance as obsolete. If reelected, he says he would encourage Russian leaders to do “whatever the hell they want” to member states that do not pay what he considers to be enough for defense. A second Trump presidency could have dire implications for European security.
Trump’s defenders argue that he is bluffing to pressure Europe into spending more
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