The Purpose Of NATO

Rick Scott: "Europe would all be speaking German if it wasn't for the American service members and what we did to save their butts in the second world war. For them to not support what we're doing in Iran is foolish. So NATO is gonna have to change." pic.twitter.com/UiUPGDVUNb

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) April 10, 2026

Before we change NATO, let us consider what NATO is.

NATO’s essential and enduring purpose is to safeguard the freedom and security of all its members. It does this through political and military means, ensuring the collective defence of all Allies, against all threats, from all directions.

NATO strives to secure a lasting peace in Europe and North America, based on its member countries’ common values of individual liberty, democracy, human rights and the rule of law. These shared values unite a diverse group of Allies on both sides of the Atlantic. NATO embodies the transatlantic bond between them, whereby the security of Allies in Europe and North America is inextricably linked.

So, Senator, how does the United States attacking Iran ensure the collective defense of NATO allies? I don’t remember NATO getting involved in Vietnam; or being expected to.  How is this different?

NATO is a defensive alliance. Its core purpose is to safeguard the freedom and security of its member countries and their one billion people.

The bedrock commitment at the core of NATO is that an attack against one of its members is considered as an attack against all. This is the principle of collective defence, which is enshrined in Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty. In a spirit of solidarity, NATO Allies will come to each other’s assistance when needed. So far, Article 5 has been invoked only once – in response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the United States in 2001.

Every day, NATO member countries consult and take decisions on security issues, at all levels and in a variety of fields. All decisions at NATO are taken by consensus. A “NATO decision” is therefore the expression of the collective will of all 32 member countries.

Can you say, Sen. Scott, when NATO was consulted about attacking Iran? Posts in Truth Social don’t count. And while I have you, a little history lesson:

It is often said that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization was founded in response to the threat posed by the Soviet Union. This is only partially true. In fact, the Alliance’s creation was part of a broader effort to serve three purposes: deterring Soviet expansionism, forbidding the revival of nationalist militarism in Europe through a strong North American presence on the continent, and encouraging European political integration.

The aftermath of World War II saw much of Europe devastated in a way that is now difficult to envision. Approximately 36.5 million Europeans had died in the conflict, 19 million of them civilians. Refugee camps and rationing dominated daily life. In some areas, infant mortality rates were one in four. Millions of orphans wandered the burnt-out shells of former metropolises. In the German city of Hamburg alone, half a million people were homeless.

In addition, Communists aided by the Soviet Union were threatening elected governments across Europe. In February 1948, the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, with covert backing from the Soviet Union, overthrew the democratically elected government in that country. Then, in reaction to the democratic consolidation of West Germany, the Soviets blockaded Allied-controlled West Berlin in a bid to consolidate their hold on the German capital. The heroism of the Berlin Airlift provided future Allies with some solace, but privation remained a grave threat to freedom and stability.

Fortunately, by then the United States had turned its back on its traditional policy of diplomatic isolationism. Aid provided through the US-funded Marshall Plan (also known as the European Recovery Program) and other means fostered a degree of economic stabilisation. European states still needed confidence in their security, however, before they would begin talking and trading with each other. Military cooperation, and the security it would bring, would have to develop in parallel with economic and political progress.

With this in mind, several Western European democracies came together to implement various projects for greater military cooperation and collective defence, including the creation of the Western Union in 1948, later to become the Western European Union in 1954. In the end, it was determined that only a truly transatlantic security agreement could deter Soviet aggression while simultaneously preventing the revival of European militarism and laying the groundwork for political integration.

Accordingly, after much discussion and debate, the North Atlantic Treaty was signed on 4 April, 1949. In the Treaty's renowned Article 5, the new Allies agreed "an armed attack against one or more of them… shall be considered an attack against them all" and that following such an attack, each Ally would take "such action as it deems necessary, including the use of armed force" in response. Significantly, Articles 2 and 3 of the Treaty had important purposes not immediately germane to the threat of attack. Article 3 laid the foundation for cooperation in military preparedness between the Allies, and Article 2 allowed them some leeway to engage in non-military cooperation.

NATO has been stalwart since 1949. NATO invoked Article 5 for the first time, after 9/11. NATO only needs to change because Trump has no clue what national alliances are, or what the national interests are. Trump’s only interest is Trump.