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The NATO summit to be held this Wednesday and Thursday in Brussels, Belgium, will not be like the others.
The difference is largely due to a man: Donald Trump, who visits Europe.
Under his supervision, periodic stresses between the United States. and many of its allies have become a subject of controversy that, if amplified, may call into question the future of the alliance itself.
Why Serves in NATO? [19659002DeptuestablishingtheNATo(NorthAtlanticTreatyOrganization)wasadefensefirstmilitaryfirstthatwantedtodestroyanyofthe"SovietUnion"
Once the Cold War was over, NATO relieved its new tasks: extending stability throughout Europe by welcoming new members and establishing a series of partnerships with other countries, but sometimes using force, particularly in the Balkans, aggression and genocide.
But the alliance has always been more than just a military organization.
It is one of the central institutions of "the West", a part of a wide range of international organizations through which the United States and its allies have tried to regulate the world that emerged from the defeat of Nazism in 1945.
But, fundamentally, NATO is an alliance of shared values and transatlantic unity. And that is why the arrival of Donald Trump at the White House is so disturbing
Is the transatlantic link undone?
Superficially, at least, the growing tensions between the President of the United States and many of his NATO allies are related to money.
Sharing the financial burden of the organization has long been a key issue at NATO summits.
Trump no He is the first president to focus on this issue
But in terms of form and substance, it represents something new.
The debate focuses on the goal agreed by all members of NATO believes that military spending should reach 2% of GDP (gross domestic product, total value of goods produced and services provided) by 2024.
Expenses certainly increase in many
Trump perhaps deserves credit for this
But it may be that many allies still have difficulties in reaching this benchmark goal
For President Trump, Germany, one of the most important partners.
Earlier this month, in statements addressed to German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Trump said: "I do not know how much protection we get for"
Noting that the # Germany negotiated gas deals with Russia, Trump added: "They pay billions of dollars to Russia and we are the idiots who pay everything."
Questioning the value that NATO represents for the United States is something new and deeply disturbing for many Washington partners
How serious is the Russian threat? [19659014] The strategic challenges facing NATO are changing
at the same time, more complex but less defined.
They cover from a resurgent Russia to the war computer science and cybernetics, from terrorism to mbad migration.
Even the Russian threat has changed. This is not the Soviet Union of yesteryear.
The threat is not so much that large Russian tank armies are advancing to the West. There are a range of strategies ranging from piracy to cyberattacks and information operations, all aimed at destabilizing Western democracies.
Western governments clearly believe that Russia is also willing to resort to murder : as evidence is that of Alexander Litvinenko in London in 2006 and the badbadination attempt on the 39, former Russian Sergei Skripal in England earlier this year.
Russia is a relatively weak country, but is ready to use its military force particularly close in Georgia and Ukraine, to defend their own strategic interests.
Of course, Russia considers the expansion of NATO's borders as a threat to its security.
Can NATO survive Trump?
The Trump franchise is, in a way, refreshing.
The United States is a superpower with strategic interests around the world
The Russian threat is now different: coping does not require forces from the past.
Europe should probably be able to provide more of its own defenses.
In fact, despite all Trump's rhetoric, the reality is that the United States now is more militarily engaged in Europe than a few years ago.
The key figures of this administration, such as Defense Secretary James Mattis, are enthusiastic supporters of the Atlantic Alliance
But Trump himself does it share the values of European and Canadian partners in Washington? Many would say no. Do you recognize the value of an alliance like NATO for the United States? Again, for many, the answer would be no.
After this NATO summit, Trump will meet his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin. This meeting has scared many NATO allies. What could the president grant? What message will Moscow take from NATO's difficulties?
NATO diplomats resigned themselves to negotiating the highs and lows of the Trump presidency.
Now, there are real fears that a second-in-command Trump could leave NATO marginalized and its transatlantic column deeply damaged.
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