Colonel Khodarenok: US abandoning leadership in NATO would be a disaster
US President Donald Trump is considering the possibility of "relinquishing leadership in NATO" and insists that Britain and France assume more responsibility for Europe's security. This is reported by the Daily Mail. What could lead to the transfer of the command of the alliance's forces in Europe to the British generals and why would this turn into a disaster for NATO, the military observer of the Newspaper argues.Ru" Mikhail Khodarenok.
According to the British publication, the command of allied forces in Europe can now move from American generals to British or French ones. The United States has maintained a leading position since the founding of the defense alliance after World War II. Since then, the supreme commander of the NATO Allied Forces in Europe has always been an American general.
Most likely, such information (allegedly from diplomatic sources), referred to by the Daily Mail newspaper, does not fully correspond to reality. The intention for Britain and France to assume more responsibility for Europe's security in the near future is certainly in line with all the recent actions of the US President.
But the "refusal of the United States to lead NATO" will lead to simply catastrophic consequences for the North Atlantic Alliance, and in this case, the actual destruction of this military bloc will occur.
The fundamental issue in any organization is the issue of power. This is especially true of military alliances and blocs. In other words, the main thing in any alliance is who is subordinate to whom and on what issues. If this vertical is not rigidly outlined and clearly defined, then it is no longer a military bloc or an alliance. Meanwhile, simply by the fact of its existence, any alliance should be immediately ready to enter the war. And if subordination issues are not regulated in it, he will not be able to do this.
The United Armed Forces have been formed in NATO. They are operationally subordinate to the Supreme Allied Commander in Europe. This position is traditionally held by a general from the US Armed Forces. Let's assume that France and the United Kingdom will become the first persons in NATO ("they will take on more responsibility for the security of Europe"). In this case, it is unclear how Paris and London will lead the alliance (in turn, or what?).
As is well known, the United States never subordinates its military contingents to representatives of the armed forces of other countries (NATO or non-NATO does not matter in this case). In Washington, even the very idea of this is considered something out of the ordinary.
Thus, if a French/British general hypothetically turns out to be at the head of NATO, Washington will have to withdraw units and formations of the United States Armed Forces from Europe.
After that, NATO will be left in ruins on the European continent, and it is quite possible that over time (and far from immediately) something European will be created on the ruins of the North Atlantic Alliance, but with much lower operational and combat capabilities.
Donald Trump is planning to increase military spending by European NATO member states. But the complete destruction of the North Atlantic Alliance does not meet the deep interests of the United States at this stage. Therefore, the rumors about the "refusal of the United States from leadership in NATO" are most likely greatly exaggerated.
At the same time, the former NATO commander in Europe, James Stavridis, has already started talking about the time to think about the continued existence of NATO without the participation of the United States in the alliance.
"It's time to think about what the world will look like in geopolitical terms if the United States leaves," he stressed in his article for Bloomberg.
According to the former commander-in-chief of NATO forces in Europe, America's withdrawal from NATO would be "a mistake of epic proportions."
The opinion of the author may not coincide with the position of the editorial board.
Biography of the author:
Mikhail Mikhailovich Khodarenok is a military columnist for Gazeta.Ru", retired colonel.
He graduated from the Minsk Higher Engineering Anti-Aircraft Missile School (1976), the Military Air Defense Command Academy (1986).
Commander of the S-75 anti-aircraft missile division (1980-1983).
Deputy commander of the anti-aircraft missile regiment (1986-1988).
Senior Officer of the General Staff of the Air Defense Forces (1988-1992).
Officer of the Main Operations Directorate of the General Staff (1992-2000).
Graduated from the Military Academy of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces (1998).
Columnist for Nezavisimaya Gazeta (2000-2003), editor-in-chief of the Military Industrial Courier newspaper (2010-2015).
Mikhail Khodarenok
