A top national security adviser to Donald Trump told Reuters on Tuesday that he would push for changes to NATO if the former president returned to power, and that this could result in the end of NATO protection. protect some member countries against an external attack.

Keith Kellogg, a retired lieutenant general and former chief of staff at the former president’s National Security Council, said in an interview that if a member of the 31-nation alliance does not spend at least 2% of its gross domestic product in the area of ​​defense, as would be agreed in statute, he would support the removal of that nation’s protection under Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty.

Article 5 states that an attack against one member of the alliance will be considered an attack against all countries, and alliance members must respond appropriately and jointly. Without these protections, there is no guarantee to a member country that other NATO members will come to its aid.

“Where I come from, alliances are important,†said Kellogg, who also served as national security adviser to former Vice President Mike Pence. “But if you are going to be part of an alliance, contribute to the alliance, be part of the alliance.â€

Trump received immediate rebukes from Democratic President Joe Biden and important names in Western politics as soon as he suggested, at a rally over the weekend, that he will not defend those NATO allies who do not spend enough in the area of defense and would even encourage Russia to attack them.

Kellogg declined to say whether he had discussed the proposal with Trump, although he said they have spoken frequently about the future of NATO. Trump is close to securing the Republican Party’s presidential nomination for the general elections that will take place on November 5th.

Kellogg said that if Trump wins, he would likely suggest a NATO meeting in June 2025 to discuss the future of the alliance. He said NATO could eventually become a “tiered alliance†in which some members enjoy greater protections based on compliance with the organization’s founding articles.

The Trump campaign did not respond to a request for comment, but identified Kellogg as a political figure who should play a role in a possible future administration.

Trump and his allies have increasingly signaled that they intend to rethink the US’ decades-old commitment to NATO, and have long complained that the alliance’s European members are not disbursing a fair amount for the defense area.

In addition to losing Article 5 protections, Kellogg said, other less severe sanctions would be possible, such as loss of access to training or shared equipment resources. Member countries, he added, should feel free to withdraw from the alliance.

“If President Trump is re-elected, as soon as the election is over, I would give everyone what we call a warning order. This would allow them to prepare and then we can discuss the matter further in June,” said the counselor.

“I think it’s a very adult conversation and it’s one of many national security conversations that need to be had.â€

NATO PROTECTIONS ARE NOT AUTOMATIC

Kellogg said that if Article 3 of the North Atlantic Treaty is not respected, the protections provided by Article 5 should not be considered automatic.

Article 3 states that NATO member countries must make appropriate efforts to develop their individual defense capabilities. Although Article 3 does not establish that countries must spend at least 2% of their GDP on defense, member countries committed, following a 2014 summit in Wales, to move towards that amount within a decade.

According to NATO estimates from July last year, 11 of 31 countries were on track to achieve that target by 2023, including the United States, the United Kingdom and several Eastern European countries near or bordering Russia. .

“Everyone understands Article 5—an attack on one is an attack on all—but they forget all the other articles that are built under or on top of it,†Kellogg said. “One of them is Article 3.â€

In December, Robert O’Brien, Trump’s national security adviser from 2019 to 2021, who still discusses foreign policy issues with the former president, told Reuters that he could impose trade tariffs on NATO countries if they do not spend at least 2% of their GDP on defense. And this proposal would probably be among the policies to be discussed during a second Trump term.

Por Gram Slattery