WASHINGTON — Seven Democrats on the U.S. House Armed Services Committee are calling on the president to explicitly endorse NATO's mutual-defense clause after he reportedly dropped it from a speech to allies in Brussels last month.
A Thursday letter led by HASC Ranking Member Adam Smith, D-Wash., urged President Trump to make the pledge after his surprise omission of a sentence from his speech at the NATO summit that would have reaffirmed America's commitment to Article 5 of the NATO treaty. It's only invocation was by the U.S., after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.
"We face many threats, but I stand here before you with a clear message: the U.S. commitment to the NATO alliance and to Article 5 is unwavering," Trump was supposed to say, according to a speech prepared by his national security team that was shared with Politico last week. Trump's speech also chided NATO leaders to spend more on defense.
While other administration officials, including Vice President Mike Pence, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, have reiterated the commitment, "the absence of an endorsement — by our commander in chief has meaning," the letter reads. The lawmakers warned of Article 5's importance to deter Russian aggression.
"Not committing to Article 5 provides opportunities for our adversaries and can easily be spun to propagate a dangerous narrative regarding U.S. commitment to the defense of our NATO allies in the event of an attack," the letter reads.
Thursday's letter was signed by Smith and Seapower ranking member Joe Courtney, D-Conn.; Tactical AirLand Forces ranking member Niki Tsongas, D-Mass.; Oversight and Investigation ranking member Seth Moulton, D-Mass., and Reps. Beto O'Rourke, D-Tex.; Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., and Stephanie Murphy, D-Fla.
Questioned by reporters at the summit, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg hailed Trump for inaugurating a 9/11 Article 5 memorial, which he called "the strongest expression of U.S. support for NATO. Just by doing [that], he sent a strong signal."
White House press secretary Sean Spicer said earlier this week that questioning Trump's commitment to Article 5 is "a bit of a silly discussion" and "the president remains entirely committed to NATO and all of the articles, not just Article 5."
Yet coupled with Trump's announcement the U.S. would withdraw from the Paris climate accords, which President Obama had signed, there was a backlash from some foreign leaders after Trump's nine-day foreign trip. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Europe's de facto leader, said earlier this week at a Bavarian beer hall that Europe can no longer "fully rely" on its overseas allies.
Trump and his defenders in Congress were pleased with his performance overseas. On May 28, Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Bob Corker, R-Tenn., put out a statement that said the trip was "executed to near perfection." Trump himself tweeted: "Just returned from Europe. Trip was a great success for America. Hard work but big results!"
Email: jgould@defensenews.com
Twitter: @reporterjoe
Joe Gould was the senior Pentagon reporter for Defense News, covering the intersection of national security policy, politics and the defense industry. He had previously served as Congress reporter.
