Bipartisan group of senators vow to keep US in NATO despite Trump threats

A bipartisan group of senators on Thursday reaffirmed America’s commitment to NATO, just a day after President Donald Trump threatened to abandon the transatlantic alliance amid a standoff over the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump said he viewed U.S. membership in the defense pact as not merely up for debate but “beyond reconsideration.” However, he cannot withdraw unilaterally; doing so would require a two-thirds Senate majority or an act of Congress. Neither option, senators say, is likely to materialize.

“Any President that contemplates attempting to withdraw from NATO is not only fulfilling Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping’s greatest dreams but would be undermining America’s own national security interests,” Senators Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., and Thom Tillis, R-N.C., co-chairs of the Senate NATO Observer Group, said in a statement.

“Let us be clear, Congress will not allow the United States to withdraw from NATO,” they continued. “Congress and the American people know we are stronger when we stand with our allies. This is a basic fact and one that we ignore only to our own detriment.”

The president’s ire at European allies stems from what he describes as lackluster backing for the U.S.-Israeli campaign against Iran. From the other side of the Atlantic, many governments attribute their reluctance to Trump’s failure to consult them before launching the operation — and to the perception that it was a war of choice.

Trump has repeatedly called on allies to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz — a critical waterway that typically carries a quarter of the world’s oil — which Iran has effectively blocked in retaliation for the war. NATO, so far, has demurred.

Trump has since dismissed the alliance as a “paper tiger,” but Shaheen and Tillis argue this is belied by NATO’s response after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. Roughly 3,500 American and allied troops died over the subsequent 20-year war in Afghanistan.

Former Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Senator Chris Coons, D-Del., also issued a joint statement on Wednesday underscoring NATO’s fight alongside American forces.

“The only time NATO has gone to war has been in response to an attack on America,” McConnell and Coons wrote. “The United States must not take this sacrifice — nor our allies’ commitment to make it again — lightly.“

The senators added: “Alliance disputes are as old as the alliance itself. Americans are safer when NATO is strong and united. It is in our interest for all allies to tend this unity with care.”

French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday warned that the tension between Trump and NATO, and the U.S. president’s constant “chatter,” could fundamentally weaken the alliance.

“Alliances like NATO are valued from the unspoken — meaning the trust behind them," Macron said during a state visit to South Korea. “If you create daily doubt about your commitment, you hollow it out.”

Tanya Noury is a reporter for Military Times and Defense News, with coverage focusing on the White House and Pentagon.

周四，一个由两党参议员组成的小组重申了美国对北约的承诺。就在一天前，美国总统唐纳德·特朗普威胁要退出跨大西洋联盟，原因是霍尔木兹海峡的对峙局面。

特朗普表示，他认为美国是否继续留在该防务条约中并非尚待讨论，而是“不容重新考虑”。然而，他无法单方面退出；这样做需要参议院三分之二多数票通过或国会立法。参议员们表示，这两种情况都不太可能发生。

“任何考虑退出北约的总统，不仅实现了弗拉基米尔·普京和习近平的最大梦想，而且还会损害美国自身的国家安全利益，”参议院北约观察小组联合主席、参议员珍妮·沙欣（DN.H.）和汤姆·蒂利斯（RN.C.）在一份声明中表示。

“我们必须明确一点，国会绝不会允许美国退出北约，”他们继续说道。“国会和美国人民都知道，与盟友站在一起，我们才能更强大。这是一个基本事实，我们若忽视它，最终只会损害我们自身的利益。”

总统对欧洲盟友的愤怒源于他所称的盟友对美以联合打击伊朗行动的支持力度不足。而在大西洋彼岸，许多国家政府则将他们的不情愿归咎于特朗普在发动军事行动前未与他们协商，以及他们认为这是一场“选择性战争”。

特朗普多次呼吁盟友帮助重新开放霍尔木兹海峡——这条至关重要的水道通常承载着全球四分之一的石油运输——伊朗为报复战争，实际上封锁了该海峡。迄今为止，北约一直拒绝提供帮助。

特朗普此后一直将北约贬称为“纸老虎”，但沙欣和蒂利斯认为，北约在2001年9月11日袭击事件后的反应驳斥了这种说法。在随后长达20年的阿富汗战争中，约有3500名美国及其盟军士兵阵亡。

前参议院多数党领袖、肯塔基州共和党参议员米奇·麦康奈尔和特拉华州民主党参议员克里斯·库恩斯周三也发表联合声明，强调北约与美国军队并肩作战。

麦康奈尔和库恩斯写道：“北约唯一一次发动战争是为了回应美国遭受的攻击。美国绝不能轻视这次牺牲，也不能轻视我们的盟友再次做出牺牲的承诺。”

参议员们补充道：“联盟内部的争端与联盟本身一样古老。北约强大而团结，美国人才能更安全。所有盟国都应谨慎维护这种团结，这符合我们的利益。”

法国总统马克龙周四警告说，特朗普与北约之间的紧张关系，以及美国总统不断的“言论”，可能会从根本上削弱北约联盟。

马克龙在对韩国进行国事访问期间表示：“像北约这样的联盟的价值在于那些不言而喻的——也就是其背后的信任。如果你每天都让人怀疑你的承诺，那么它就会被掏空。”

Tanya Noury 是《军事时报》和《防务新闻》的记者，她的报道主要集中在白宫和五角大楼。