Ex-Army commander rips Trump’s latest 'dangerous' proposal

During his four years in the White House, former President Joe Biden warned that if Donald Trump ever returned to the Oval Office, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) would be in grave danger. Biden was not only an aggressive defender of NATO — he also favored NATO's expansion, applauding Finland and Sweden's decision to join the alliance.

Biden viewed NATO as crucial to the United States from a national standpoint, describing it as "the greatest military alliance in the history of the world." But President Trump, after returning to the White House, often expressed his hostility to NATO. Now, Trump is considering U.S. withdrawal from NATO, which he believes isn't doing enough to support his war against Iran.

In a biting article published by the conservative website The Bulwark on April 2, retired U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling — former commander of U.S. Army Europe — lays out a variety of reasons why he believes that U.S. withdrawal from NATO is a terrible idea.

"Across Europe," Hertling explains, "NATO intelligence fusion centers and national intelligence services contribute to a shared picture of threats against American interests or the American homeland. Whether it's tracking terrorist networks, monitoring Russian military movements, or identifying cyber threats before they reach U.S. infrastructure, allied intelligence contributions are constant, quiet, and critical. Many of the terror plots disrupted in Europe — and some that might have reached American shores — were stopped because of allied intelligence work. Sharing the burden of collective security is important."

Trump, Hertling argues, fails to understand that NATO "isn't designed to rubber-stamp unilateral decisions" but rather, to "align strategy, coordinate action, and share risk."

"As commander of U.S. Army Europe," Hertling notes, "I worked alongside all the allies and various partners — some of whom have since become NATO members — who brought different capabilities, different perspectives, and a shared commitment to the mission. And what we were building — day after day, exercise after exercise — is trust. Because trust and understanding are the currency of alliances…. NATO is not perfect. It never has been. But it has endured because it works."

During World War 2, Hertling stresses, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill understood the value of alliances — whereas Trump views foreign policy as a matter of "transactions."

"For more than 75 years, (NATO) has deterred aggression, prevented major wars in Europe, and extend American and European influence," Hertling writes. "It has provided a framework for cooperation and an anchor to global stability…… The choice is not between a flawless NATO and a collection of countries in NATO that does a president's bidding. It is between an imperfect alliance and the far more dangerous prospect of standing alone."

Hertling adds, "Churchill understood that. Trump would be wise to learn it."

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