The leaders of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) are gathering in Washington DC to mark 75 years of the military alliance.
This is anything but an anniversary celebration as the bloc and Western world at large faces the worst security crisis since the World War II. The crisis is much more consequential —existential even— for European members of the bloc who are directly facing the threat of an expansionist Russia. Unlike the United States or Canada, the European nations do not have an ocean between them and Russia. For them, Russia is next door and will be at the doorstep if Ukraine falls.
Amid such a fundamental crisis, the strongest backer of the bloc, the United States, is enveloped in the unlikeliest of crisis. President Joe Bide is facing questions over his mental capacity to lead the nation and his likely successor, Donald Trump, has threatened to abandon the bloc and “encourage” Russia to “do whatever the hell they want” if member-states don’t spend as per his liking.
Complicating the world further is the war in the Middle East and China that’s becoming belligerent by the day and is carrying out hegemonic scheming across the Indo-Pacific region to undermine the Western belief of the rules-based world order that guarantees free and open seas.
US political crises looming over NATO
Biden is expected to use the summit to reassure allies of his ability to govern and provide the bloc with the leadership that it deserves.
Despite the countries ramping up spending, the United States remains the bloc’s foremost military power and Biden as the American president holds great sway in the bloc. Following the disastrous presidential debate with Trump in which he at times struggled to complete sentences, appeared to freeze, and lost his chain of thoughts multiple times, there are questions whether he is mentally and physically fit for the taxing job of the American presidency and such questions are damning for his and the American standing in the bloc.
Ahead of the NATO Summit, Biden on Monday said that the allies are looking for US leadership and he has been providing it through his term.
“Our allies are looking for US leadership. Who else do you think could step in here and do this? I expanded NATO. I solidified NATO,” said Biden in an interview with MSNBC.
On the other hand, Trump has indicated that he would pursue an isolationist foreign policy in his second term. He has been sceptical of the support to Ukraine and has said his priority would be to cut the American spending in NATO and not necessarily to safeguard the member-states against the Russian or Chinese aggression on various fronts.
Ukraine’s hopes with NATO Summit
A day after a Russian barrage struck a children’s hospital in Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will be in Washington DC with the hope of securing more air defence systems to protect against similar Russian attacks.
“I would like to hear from our partners a greater resilience and a stronger response to the blow that Russia has once again delivered,” said Zelensky before heading to Washington, as per AFP.
As the United States and Germany have shut down any talks of inviting Ukraine to join NATO any time soon, Zelenskyy’s biggest gain from the summit will be additional air defence systems or weaponries. Just days before the summit, however, the newly-formed British government of Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer announced fresh weapons pledges to Ukraine, including missiles, boats, and artillery.
Instead of inviting Ukraine to be a member-state, NATO members would be looking forward to pledging an “irreversible” pathway to an eventual membership in the summit declaration and say the country is on a “bridge” to joining the bloc, according to AFP.
