The conservative Wall Street Journal editorial board took President Donald Trump to the woodshed on Wednesday over his latest threats to leave the NATO alliance, a move that would be illegal after legislation passed by Congress to prevent precisely that, but which represents an ongoing lack of loyalty for the president toward U.S. military allies.
Trump’s threats didn’t come in a vacuum, the board acknowledged — European nations took a jab at the administration first, although not without reason.
“Spain and Italy are blocking U.S. military flights for Iran from their bases, and Mr. Trump says the Macron government has blocked flights over France. Add its reluctance to help clear the Strait of Hormuz, and Europe is playing into every MAGA stereotype about a one-sided Western alliance,” wrote the board. “Europe’s frustration with Mr. Trump is understandable given his failure to consult about the war in advance and his taunts about occupying Greenland. Mr. Trump’s refusal to do more to help Ukraine resist Russia is another legitimate gripe.”
Whatever the case, the board continued, “A U.S. withdrawal from NATO would nonetheless serve only Russia, Iran and China. Blowing up NATO has been the main goal of Russian strategy since the alliance formed in 1949. Mr. Putin would be emboldened — and at the very time Ukraine is showing new strength in resisting Russia’s invasion forces.”
This would be self-defeating, the board warned, because Iran is only as powerful as it is because of Russian sponsorship in the first place: “The two share weapons, especially drones and missiles, and Russia is providing intelligence to Iran about American targets. Mr. Trump is especially obtuse on this point, refusing even to acknowledge this Russian harm to U.S. troops, much less condemn it. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ducks the question whenever he’s asked about it.”
Hostile foreign powers like Russia and China, the board concluded, want “the U.S. and Israel to fail to defeat Iran, and Russia to defeat Ukraine militarily and become the dominant power in Europe. If the Western allies let this happen, it will be the height of folly and an historic tragedy.”
All of this comes as Trump is set to give a speech about the status of the Iran war, and likely his plans to try to get out of it.
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