Most Americans hold a favorable opinion of NATO, though Democrats are more supportive of the alliance than Republicans.
A new Pew Research Center report showed 60% of Americans, including 77% of Democrats and 45% of Republicans, view NATO favorably.
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump is attending the NATO summit in the Netherlands, where he’ll push for increased defense spending from the other alliance members.
The U.S. wants NATO members to increase defense spending to 5% of their their gross domestic products. NATO members have increased military spending in recent years, with the threat of Russia looming and the war in Ukraine in its fourth year. A decade ago, members agreed to commit 2% of their GDPs to defense spending.
The alliance said just three members met that goal in 2014, but all are expected to meet or exceed it this year. Eight NATO countries, including Canada, Italy and Spain, missed the 2% mark last year, according to estimates published by the alliance. The U.S. spent about 3.4% of its GDP on defense. But the U.S. also spends more on its military than the next nine countries combined, according to the Peter G. Peterson Foundation.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said at the NATO Public Forum that alliance countries are buying into the 5% goal that includes 3.5% of core defense spending and 1.5% on other things that matter to defense, such as roads and bridges.
Rutte said Germany plans to double the money spent on defense between 2021 and 2029.
“And why is this important?” Rutte said of NATO members committing to spend more on defense. “Because we know that, that Russia is reconstituting itself at a pace, at a speed which is really staggering and frightening. And so, we have to stand ready.
“If we don’t, we cannot defend ourselves in three to five years from now. Today, they know if they try anything, our reaction will be devastating. But we have to make sure that in three to five years they won’t try. So, if you want to prevent war, spend more. Peace through strength. We can put every label on it, but they are all true. So, this is really historic.”
Rutte said the U.S. stands with fellow NATO members, but it’s fair for the U.S. to demand Europeans take on a bigger share of the burden.
NATO was created in 1949 to provide collective security against the Soviet Union.
Russian foreign policy expert Mark N. Katz, a professor emeritus of government and politics at George Mason University, said the U.S. benefits from NATO membership.
“We’ve obviously fought two world wars to prevent domination of Europe,” Katz said. “And the whole point of NATO is to prevent, first, the Soviet Union and then Russia from doing so.”
Katz said it’s been so long since the end of the Cold War that perhaps Americans no longer “have sort of a natural understanding” of NATO’s value as a foil to Russia. He said NATO also serves to keep the peace within Europe.
“Here’s a continent that had centuries and centuries of experience, being at odds with one another,” Katz said. “And the fact that these countries are all NATO members doesn’t serve to eliminate conflict, but we don’t see conflict between NATO members.”
Russians are making advances in Ukraine, but much more slowly now, Katz said. He said the Russians are paying a huge price in terms of casualties.
“The Ukrainians have been remarkably resilient,” Katz said.
Russia controls more than 44,000 square miles of Ukraine, or close to a fifth of Ukrainian territory, including Crimea and parts of Donbas that Russia had seized before its 2022 invasion. Russia has taken over another 27,000 square miles of Ukraine since its invasion more than three years ago.
The Ukrainians are going to continue fighting, Katz said. The question is how much Western support they’ll continue to receive.
Trump wants to negotiate a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine, but Russian President Vladimir Putin hasn’t shown a willingness to play ball. Putin likely wants to not only keep what he’s gained but add the rest of the land in partially occupied Ukrainian provinces, Katz said during a previous interview.
Putin wants a guarantee that NATO won’t admit Ukraine, which Katz previously said should be viewed as an untenable demand.
He said Tuesday that if the U.S. stops supporting Ukraine, it’ll demoralize a lot of Europeans and won’t be good for American influence abroad. Katz said it’s fair to ask the other NATO members to spend more on defense.
But he also said America’s defense spending gives it a leadership position within NATO. And, with that, Katz said NATO allies will do all they can to appease Trump at the summit. Europeans are frightened by the idea of Russian expansionism and American withdrawal, he said.
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