Seventy years ago, the United States and 11 other countries formed an alliance to protect each other against the Soviet Union. Today, 29 members belong to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and operate under the agreement that if one member is attacked it is considered an attack on all. This agreement has worked for these last 70 years to protect Eastern Europe and other countries from bullying or outright invasion by Russia and other enemies.
Since the Cold War ended, Russia has continued to remain a clear threat to its neighbors, as evidenced by Georgia and Ukraine. Without our presence, the Baltic States and Poland would be very vulnerable to Russian aggression. When I travelled to NATO countries in 2017 as part of a congressional delegation, I heard from many leaders in Poland who asked for a permanent US presence, because it sends the message to Russia that an attack on them is an attack on America. They want American boots on their territory.
Estonia is a proud nation and a great success story in the Baltics that has embraced democratic and free enterprise principles. Russia continues to regularly conduct cyber-attacks against Estonia and has been hostile on their borders. Estonia also has expressed a strong desire to have permanent U.S. forces as a deterrence against Russian aggression and possible incursions like in Ukraine.
We also must consider increased Russian activity in the northern flank near Norway, who serves as the eyes and ears of that area in support of NATO. Norway is concerned about the increased military presence of Russia in the Artic region, and it is important for us to work with Norway to help them strengthen defenses against Russia.
The strength of our continued presence in NATO compels Russia to tread lightly, which helps foster peace.
The strength of our continued presence in NATO compels Russia to tread lightly, which helps foster peace. In all of our recent conflicts in the Middle East it is our NATO Allies that are first to fight by our side, along with Australia. Today there are 26 NATO countries serving with us in Afghanistan, including 6,706 Allied troops serving alongside our 8,475 troops. Allied nations also have presence in other countries in the Middle East that are not NATO commitments.
My experience has been that not only the firepower our Allies bring is critical, but the different ways of thinking have made our strategies more effective. I saw this in Iraq in 2007 and 2008 where the British influence strengthened our reconciliation process with those we had fought with but were willing to make peace. Many NATO countries bring niche capabilities that make tremendous difference.
But we have our challenges: many of our bases are reliant on Russian gas that is vulnerable to being turned off in time of crisis, many of our Allies are spending too little which puts more burden on the US, and the reliability of Turkey is open to question to a point that we need to rethink the sale of our F-35s.
While it is good to advocate for more defense spending by our Allies, it is destabilizing and self-destructive public policy to threaten to leave NATO.
NATO remains pivotal to our nation’s security, and while it is good to advocate for more defense spending by our Allies, it is destabilizing and self-destructive public policy to threaten to leave NATO.
We want a world where the citizens are sovereign over their own nations; where human rights, freedoms, free markets, and free trade reign supreme. This can only be done with American leadership, but we can’t do it alone. We need strong Allies by our side. This is best done with active but humble American leadership.
NATO has been a force for peace in Europe and has shared the burden of war in the Middle East. We should want to strengthen this voice, not weaken it. This is why I joined my colleague and For Country Caucus Co-Chairman, Rep. Jimmy Panetta (D-CA), as an original co-sponsor of H.R. 676, the NATO Support Act. This legislation would prohibit the use or appropriation of funds to withdraw the United States from NATO. As Winston Churchill said in April of 1945 prior to the formation of NATO, “There is only one thing worse than fighting with allies, and that is fighting without them.” Truer words have never been spoken.
We can’t fight for freedom alone. We need NATO at our side.
Don Bacon represents the 2nd District of Nebraska in the U.S. House of Representatives. He previously spent nearly 30 years serving in the U.S. Air Force, retiring in 2014 as a Brigadier General.