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Retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg said NATO may need to be replaced, arguing the organization has shown itself to be “cowards” and ineffective during the conflict with Iran.
In a Wednesday appearance on “Hannity,” Kellogg blasted NATO allies over their failure to address the conflict in Iran. He suggested that the United States may benefit from different defensive partners.
“NATO’s turn[ing] [out] to be cowards,” Kellogg said.
“Maybe we need to have a new NATO, a new defensive establishment.”
He pointed to Article 13 of the North Atlantic Treaty — which states that any party may leave NATO one year after providing notice of denunciation — as a way out.
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Kellogg then suggested alternative alliance structures.
“Redraw the defense alignments we have, maybe create one with Japan and Australia and some of those European nations that are willing to go into the fight, like the new, re-engaged Germany or Poland, as well. Even Ukraine, which has proven to be a good ally as well.”
Former Deputy National Security Advisor Victoria Coates echoed Kellogg’s concerns about the organization, saying NATO has proven itself “inconsequential.”
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“They can’t deal with the biggest war in Europe since World War II. On their own continent, they haven’t been able to deal with it. So, I don’t think we really need them in the Middle East. It would have been nice to have their support. But what President Trump has demonstrated is what the United States can do with a truly motivated ally like Israel,” she said.
Coates said the devastation wrought on Iran’s military serves as a powerful deterrent to Russia and China.
Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who previously served in roles related to NATO operations, called the state of the alliance heartbreaking.
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“I’ve been someone who believed NATO was a very important set of allies for decades,” Pompeo said.
“But to watch them be so feckless, not to be able to convince their own people, their own domestic audiences, that this matters, to explain to them why they’re safer as a result of what the United States, with our friends in Israel, have done, and then to assist us in that mission set… I think there will have to be a fundamental rethinking about how it is the United States makes sure we figure out exactly who our allies are and what we can depend on them for.”
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