NATO general says

Trump not serious about abandoning treaty

AP, Toronto: A top NATO general said that President-elect Donald Trump’s suggestion that the United States might abandon its NATO treaty commitments is not serious because the treaty is so binding and important to America and its allies that no president “would dare” change it.
Czech Army Gen. Petr Pavel said Wednesday that NATO’s Article 5 mutual defence clause is quite clear and NATO will come to the defense, unconditionally, of any fellow member who is attacked. Pavel, chairman of NATO’s Military Committee, made the remarks to The Associated Press ahead of this weekend’s Halifax International Security Forum - the first major national security conference since Trump’s election.
Trump’s mere musing during the presidential campaign that he would review allies’ financial contributions - in this case contributions owed by Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania - before acting under NATO’s Article 5 mutual defense clause if they were attacked by Russia could rock the foundations of the security architecture that has underpinned European stability since the end of World War II. Trump has also called NATO “obsolete” and a bad deal for America.
“The continuity of the trans-Atlantic relationship, spanning almost 70 years, is simply so binding that no American president would dare be able to change it, and even not willing, because we understand on sides on both sides of the Atlantic that NATO is as important to European allies as it is to North America and we have a treaty that is binding to all of us,” Pavel said.
“I really think that there is no serious threat there to challenging the principles of NATO.”
U.S. administrations have complained, often bitterly, that many NATO members are not footing their share of the alliance’s bills. The U.S.  accounts for more than 70 percent of all NATO defense spending. Only four other allies - Britain, Estonia, Greece and Poland - meet the minimum 2 percent of gross domestic product on defense that NATO requires. But Trump’s floating the idea that that spending target would be a prerequisite for the U.S. to defend them is an abrupt break for the most powerful member of NATO, which styles itself as the most successful military alliance in world history.

NATO general says

Trump not serious about abandoning treaty

AP, Toronto: A top NATO general said that President-elect Donald Trumps suggestion that the United States might abandon its NATO treaty commitments is not serious because the treaty is so binding and important to America and its allies that no president would dare change it. Czech Army Gen. Petr Pavel said Wednesday that NATOs Article 5 mutual defence clause is quite clear and NATO will come to the defense, unconditionally, of any fellow member who is attacked. Pavel, chairman of NATOs Military Committee, made the remarks to The Associated Press ahead of this weekends Halifax International Security Forum - the firstmajor national security conference since Trumps election. Trumps mere musing during the presidential campaign that he would review allies financial contributions - in this case contributions owed by Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania - before acting under NATOs Article 5 mutual defense clause if they were attacked by Russia could rock the foundations of the security architecture that has underpinned European stability since the end of World War II. Trump has also called NATO obsolete and a bad deal for America. The continuity of the trans-Atlantic relationship, spanning almost 70 years, is simply so binding that no American president would dare be able to change it, and even not willing, because we understand on sides on both sides of the Atlantic that NATO is as important to European allies as it is to North America and we have a treaty that is binding to all of us, Pavel said. I really think that there is no serious threat there to challenging the principles of NATO. U.S. administrations have complained, often bitterly, that many NATO members are not footing their share of the alliances bills. The U.S. accounts for more than 70 percent of all NATO defense spending. Only four other allies - Britain, Estonia, Greece and Poland - meet the minimum 2 percent of gross domestic product on defense that NATO requires. But Trumps floating the idea that that spending target would be a prerequisite for the U.S. to defend them is an abrupt break for the most powerful member of NATO, which styles itself as the most successful military alliance in world history.