• About Us
  • Who Are We
  • Work With Us
Thursday, December 12, 2019
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Globe Post
39 °f
New York
44 ° Fri
46 ° Sat
40 ° Sun
41 ° Mon
  • National
  • World
  • Business
  • Interviews
  • Lifestyle
  • Democracy at Risk
    • Media Freedom
  • Opinion
    • Editorials
    • Columns
    • Book Reviews
    • Stage
  • Submit Op-ed
  • National
  • World
  • Business
  • Interviews
  • Lifestyle
  • Democracy at Risk
    • Media Freedom
  • Opinion
    • Editorials
    • Columns
    • Book Reviews
    • Stage
  • Submit Op-ed
No Result
View All Result
The Globe Post
No Result
View All Result
Home National

Congress to Play a Greater Role in Deciding US Defense Policy in Europe

Bryan Bowman by Bryan Bowman
July 19, 2018
in National, World
US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin shake hands at their meeting at Helsinki on July 16, 2018

Presidents Trump and Putin shake hands at their meeting in Helsinki. Photo: AFP

Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Following President Donald Trump’s tumultuous visit to Europe for a NATO summit and meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the co-chairs of the Senate NATO Observer Group on Thursday said the legislative branch will seek to play a greater role in deciding U.S. policy towards the European defense organization.

“The voice of the American people doesn’t just come through one branch. It comes through two branches, and the U.S. Congress is a very important part of that,” Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC.), co-chair of the recently revamped observer group said at an event held at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

While Trump signed a resolution following the summit in Brussels last week reaffirming America’s commitment to article five —  NATO’s collective defense mechanism — the president seemed to cast doubt on his support for the article in a subsequent interview with Fox’s Tucker Carlson in Helsinki.

“So, let’s say Montenegro — which joined last year — is attacked, why should my son go to Montenegro to defend it from attack?” Carlson asked Trump.

“I understand what you’re saying,” Trump responded. “I’ve asked the same question …They have very aggressive people. They may get aggressive, and congratulations, you’re in World War III.”

Trump has long raised doubts about the future of America’s commitment to NATO. Legislators, however, appear to be resolute in their support for the organization.

Ahead of the president’s trip to Europe, the Senate passed a motion 97-2 reaffirming America’s “ironclad” commitment to NATO.

On Tuesday, Tillis and Co-Chair Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH.) announced that the Senate NATO Observer Group will expand to include nine new members — five Republicans and four Democrats.

The observer group was originally established in 1997 amidst a number of NATO expansions but was disbanded in 2007. Tillis and Shaheen reestablished the group in February.

“As we look at some of the equivocations about the importance of NATO by the president, as we look at the current challenges we face from Russia, from cyber … from terrorism, [Tillis] and I thought that this would be a good time to think about reestablishing [the group],” Shaheen said Thursday.

While both co-chairs said they believe it’s unlikely Trump will attempt to withdraw the U.S. from NATO, Shaheen argued the president’s equivocations are still doing damage.

“I think there are only so many times where that can happen, and it begins to chip away at the belief that the United States is a reliable ally,” Shaheen said of Trump’s comments on article five. “What the president says does have resonance … it’s taking a toll.”

Tillis’ criticism of Trump’s rhetoric on NATO was more tame. The Republican Senator suggested Trump’s posturing is a strategy to pressure member countries to contribute more to the group’s defense fund — a demand Trump has long made.

“I do believe that the president uses various devices to capture people’s attention,” Tillis said. “Incidentally, using those kinds of devices has gotten NATO members on the right track to contributing and getting their investment in NATO up.”

Tillis, however, threatened that any serious move to withdraw the U.S. from the treaty organization would be met by a “historic” mobilization from Congress to stop it.

“If President Trump or any president … were to actually, seriously withdraw from NATO, I think it would create a unifying event unlike anything you’ve seen in U.S. history,” Tillis said. “The same 97-2 vote would be the same kind for vote we’d have for congressional action.”

The senators said NATO is important not only to U.S. defense interests but economic interests as well. As more countries from Eastern Europe seek to join the organization, the co-chairs framed the issue around extending Western influence to regions that have been historically under a Russian economic sphere.

“We had clear evidence that Russia had tried to engineer a coup in Montenegro because they don’t want … countries in the Balkans that have historically been areas of Russian influence to join the West,” Shaheen said. “We want those countries to be a part of the Western sphere of influence.”

War torn Ukraine is another nation caught between alignment with the West and Moscow. The country is strategically important to Russian economic interests, and evidence shows Putin has intervened militarily in an effort to prevent pro-Western forces from coming to power, despite denials from the Kremlin.

“On Ukraine, I don’t have any interest in Russia’s opinion about the succession of a potential NATO ally,” Tillis said.

Share4Tweet
Bryan Bowman

Bryan Bowman

Email Bryan at bryan.bowman@theglobepost.com or follow him on Twitter @TGPBryanBowman

Related Posts

Yemen to Become World’s Poorest Country if War Continues: UN
National

Democratic Leaders Turn Backs on Yemen in ‘Compromise’ Defense Bill

by Bryan Bowman
December 10, 2019
Capitol building and the US flag
National

US House Passes Uighur Bill Urging Sanctions on Chinese Officials

by Staff Writer
December 4, 2019
NATO Slams Turkey Over Syria Operation, But No Punishment
Featured

NATO Slams Turkey Over Syria Operation, But No Punishment

by Staff Writer
October 24, 2019
Capitol building and the US flag
National

US House Passes Hong Kong ‘Democracy Act’

by Staff Writer
October 16, 2019
us capitol building
National

US Congress Planning Punitive Measures Against Turkey Over Syria Offensive

by Staff Writer
October 15, 2019
Smokes rising from stacks adding carbon dioxide (CO2) in the earth’s atmosphere and contributing to global warming and climate change.
Environment

Carbon Capture: Part of the Climate Problem or Solution?

by Alex Graf
August 14, 2019
Next Post
Benjamin Netanyahu

Israel Adopts Controversial Jewish Nation-State Law

Pro-government forces in Hodeidah

Poor Residents Have No Means to Escape Battle for Yemen’s Hodeidah

Recommended

Beyond These Walls: Social Control and Criminal Justice in America [Part I]

Can Yoga in Prisons Help Reduce Recidivism Rates?

December 11, 2019
Greta Thunberg gives an impassioned speech at the UN climate summit, September 23, 2019.

Thunberg Slams ‘Misleading’ Climate Pledges at Chaotic UN Summit

December 11, 2019
India Will Not Join China-Backed Trade Deal in Blow to Sprawling Pact

India Passes Contentious Citizenship Bill Amid Violent Protests

December 11, 2019
Traders work after the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on August 7, 2019 on Wall Street in New York City.

The Financialization of the US Economy Should Terrify All Americans

December 11, 2019
Yemen to Become World’s Poorest Country if War Continues: UN

Democratic Leaders Turn Backs on Yemen in ‘Compromise’ Defense Bill

December 10, 2019
aung san suu kyi holocaust museum Elie Wiesel

Myanmar’s Suu Kyi Told to ‘Stop the Genocide’ in UN Court Showdown

December 10, 2019

Opinion

Traders work after the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on August 7, 2019 on Wall Street in New York City.

The Financialization of the US Economy Should Terrify All Americans

December 11, 2019
US President Donald Trump pauses while speaking about infrastructure at the Cameron LNG Export Facility on May 14, 2019

Why It Is Time for Trump to Forge a New Iran Deal

December 9, 2019
US President Donald Trump

Climate Won’t Be Only Winner if Trump Repledges to Paris Agreement

December 5, 2019
Police fires tear gas at protestors in Hong Kong.

Protests in Hong Kong: Media’s Portrayal Versus Firsthand Experience

December 4, 2019
From left to right: Sen. Cory Brooker, Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders on the debate stage in Atlanta

Presidential Candidates: What’s Your Plan for Draining the Swamp?

December 2, 2019
US President Donald Trump

How Trump’s Policies Could Detonate the Middle East Powder Keg

November 27, 2019
Facebook Twitter

Newsletter

Do you like our reporting?
SUBSCRIBE

About Us

The Globe Post

The Globe Post is part of Globe Post Media, a U.S. digital news organization that is publishing the world's best targeted news sites.

submit oped

© 2018 The Globe Post

No Result
View All Result
  • National
  • World
  • Business
  • Interviews
  • Lifestyle
  • Democracy at Risk
    • Media Freedom
  • Opinion
    • Editorials
    • Columns
    • Book Reviews
    • Stage
  • Submit Op-ed

© 2018 The Globe Post