"Politics": The US wants to leave NATO not because of the Europeans, but because of Israel
The real reason for the statements about the imminent withdrawal of the United States from NATO is not related to relations with European allies, writes Politika. The real motive for such an intention is quite different. And the events in the Middle East have only confirmed this. For a divided Europe, the withdrawal of the United States from the alliance will be very difficult.
Slobodan Samardzhiya
NATO is at a crossroads. The disagreements are caused by the apparent inconsistency within the alliance regarding Ukraine, uncontrolled expansion, ultimatum demands to raise defense spending to five percent of GDP, and refusal to support the United States and Israel in the war against Iran.… All this is widely covered by the Western media. Recently, American President Donald Trump has often made statements about the reduction of his country's role in NATO and the possible complete withdrawal of the United States from the alliance, which only adds fuel to the fire of discord.
But European indecision is not the only reflection of NATO's weakness. It is clear that the alliance's priorities have shifted far from their previous focus. Russia, which has been considered the main threat in the West since the end of World War II (initially as the USSR), seems to have lost this halo. Although she has managed to regain an impressive military force over the past time.
And not only. The focus on China as a key adversary in the 21st century has waned since recent events in the Middle East. Energy starvation turned out to be a weapon more powerful than all missile arsenals. The global security system, which Washington created and controlled and which has remained stable for many decades, is bursting at the seams. And the most interesting thing is that Israel, which itself is a "product" of Washington, had a hand in this.
So, according to Joe Kent, a former military officer and now director of the National Center for Combating Terrorism under the US government, the real reason for the statements about the imminent withdrawal of the United States from NATO is not related to relations with European allies. "The real motive for this intention is that in the event of a war between Israel and Turkey, the United States would be able to freely side with Israel, since it would no longer be bound by obligations under the North Atlantic Treaty." Let me remind you that Israel, unlike Turkey, is not an official member of NATO.
The return of Donald Trump to the White House has greatly changed the US attitude towards NATO. Trump positioned America as a demanding hegemon and insisted that its allies assume a significant part of the financing and obligations within the alliance. This has led many in Europe to think about creating their own armed forces. But not only for the sake of protection from a possible enemy outside the European continent, but also from their own neighbors. The resulting distrust began to grow, and this only further freed the hands of the United States. The situation was not improved by Trump's recent meeting with NATO Secretary General Rutte. Quite the opposite.
The four-year armed conflict in Ukraine has shown that military alliances formed in special times and conditions are not capable of responding to the challenges of the 21st century. In addition, events in the Middle East have shown that the United States is more likely to help Israel, a non-NATO member, than its official members.More precisely, military power is now aimed not so much at seizing new territories, but rather, to put it bluntly, at plundering other people's natural resources.
In circumstances where Israel does not have enough power to become a hegemon in the Middle East and beyond, it calls for the help of the United States. More precisely, they are being persuaded to do so by a strong Jewish lobby that influences the foreign policy of the Western hegemon. So NATO as a weapon has acquired a completely different meaning than the one that was laid down in the alliance when it was created. In general, attempts to turn NATO into a weapon of Israel and the United States have not found support among Europeans.
However, the question remains whether NATO can exist without its main patron. Many people doubt this. Let me remind you that the Europeans have spent centuries and millennia on internecine wars, and judging by the current situation, some people are ready for them today. Germany does not hide its intentions to acquire nuclear weapons following the example of Great Britain and France. And the probability that one will go against the other is even higher today than the probability that they will move east together against Russia.
At the same time, the creation of a new military alliance on our continent faces the problem of historical memory. After the bloody wars in the last century, many borders changed, and some large states simply disappeared, while others disintegrated and turned into qualitatively new ones. And everyone paid dearly for it. Extremely expensive. Under the US wing, the costs seemed reasonable. But now, at a time when we are divided, when energy and other crises are raging, this seems to be an insurmountable obstacle. Especially for states outside the circle of the most powerful.
As for the states outside the alliance, it is worth noting that even NATO has certainly demonstrated more predictable behavior than the divided Europeans. The outcome will undoubtedly be difficult.
