NATO has an Inside Political Crisis, Strategist Warns
The secretary general of NATO is meeting German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin on Thursday. This would be about the backdrop of challenges for the transatlantic military alliance and increasing tensions in Europe. However, there is skepticism on the role of NATO in de-escalating international disputes as divisions are present within the organization.
The meeting between NATO’s leader, Jens Stoltenberg, and Merkel happens amid an ongoing crackdown against protesters in Belarus – a neighbor of the European Union – and intensifying tensions between NATO members (but historical rivals) Turkey and Greece in the Mediterranean, as well as the recent withdrawal of U.S. troops stationed in Germany.
In Belarus’s situation, protesters are still calling for the resignation of President Alexander Lukashenko. The protests follow a disputed election result earlier in August. Stoltenberg denied accusations that NATO troops gathered at the country’s border with Poland and Lithuania.
Stoltenberg said, “NATO has no military build-up in the region so any excuse to use that as an excuse to crackdown on peaceful protesters is absolutely unjustified.”
Also, he arrived in Berlin on Wednesday to meet with senior German officials and attend an informal meeting of EU defense ministers.
In addition to that, he mentioned the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Germany. U.S. President Donald Trump made the decision and repeatedly lambasted NATO members – particularly Germany – for not meeting targets agreed in 2014 for members of the organization to spend no less than 2% of gross domestic product (GDP) on defense spending.
Trump claims that the U.S. is spending too much to protect Europe.
The Members
Even though Germany has boosted defense spending since 2014, it is still not enough to reach the 2% target. Recently, NATO estimated that the country spent 1.38% on defense spending in 2019. Then, the U.S., in the estimate, would have spent 3.42%. Truthfully, only nine members of the 30-country alliance hit the agreed 2% target in 2019. This is based on the forecast from NATO. They believe that lower defense spending in a few European NATO members is the key factor behind Trump’s announcement earlier this year that the U.S. would withdraw around 12,000 U.S. troops from Germany.
Chief strategy officer at Rasmussen Global, Fabrice Pothier, stated that NATO was riven with divisions between its members. The recent spat is between NATO members Greece and Turkey. Both are conducting rival naval military exercises off the island of Crete. This is amid competing claims over oil and natural gas exploration rights in the Eastern Mediterranean.
The spat resulted in a rift in NATO, and within Europe, with the U.S. reportedly conducting naval exercises with Turkey. At the same time, France has conducted drills with Greece.
Pothier explained that the real squeeze of NATO is inside the organization. Despite the crises outside in Belarus, in the Eastern Mediterranean crisis, inside, several significant members – like the U.S., Turkey, and France – are not seeing eye to eye.
He stated, “I think on the inside (of NATO) there is a real political crisis simmering.”
Before the informal meeting with EU defense ministers on Wednesday, Stoltenberg talked about the mounting tensions between Greece and Turkey and called for a dialog.
