Daily Times

NATO is at war with itself. At least that is the emerging message as the 29-member multilateral defence forum kicked off its two-day summit. Yet those hoping for a recognition of sorts that the Alliance is, in fact, nothing but a Cold War relic are in for disappointment. For while the ‘threat’ of Russia still looms large — it is the Trump White House that is seen as the biggest bully on the block.

And it all boils down to money.

As the US sees it, Europe is taking it for a ride. Given that Washington continues to cough up cash to protect the continent’s borders. This was the contention that took centre stage in Brussels. None of which should be surprising as it has been a long-held resentment; particularly under this presidency.

Thus Donald Trump lambasted his European allies over defence budget commitments. Namely, the fact that the 2 percent of GDP agreed upon four years ago has not been met; with Britain, Greece, Poland and Estonia proving an exception to the rule. More than half the total membership (16 out of 29 nations) reportedly fail to make contributions worth 1.5 percent of GDP. In terms of the current fiscal year, the US is on schedule to pay 3.5 percent; heavily contrasting with Europe and Canada’s 1.47 percent.

It is easy to see why Washington is irked. Except that playing the role of the world’s (unelected) policeman comes at a cost. And the US has never been shy about leveraging its largesse to coerce weaker states to do its bidding. Indeed, in the run-up to the NATO powwow Trump warned Angela Merkel that he could not commit to defending Germany against a resurgent Russia.

And herein lies the rub. American upset is fuelled by economics and geo-strategic shifts. Not least the pipeline deal signed between Berlin and Moscow and inaugurated back in 2011; scheduled for completion next year. As the president sees it, his country is safeguarding Germany and its neighbours from a common enemy while those same nations are entering into energy deals with the devil.

To be clear, this represents a convenient way of avoiding the question of how NATO’s mandate has significantly changed since the end of the Cold War; with attention shifting towards Afghanistan and the Middle East. Thus focus should turn to the refugee crisis. And collective acknowledgment that the displacement of peoples and the decimation of entire societies at the hands of NATO bullets and bombs does not make the world secure. Quite the contrary. Because, simply put, the protection of some states cannot be built on the graves of others.

That none of this was brought to the Brussels table suggests that the West is happy to continue wielding notions of democracy as a weapon of mass destruction. Meaning that it matters not very much who is contributing what to the Alliance budget. For it is the weak who end up footing the bill.  *

Published in Daily Times, July 12^th 2018.