PARIS, June 24. /TASS/. Expansion has turned the North Atlantic Alliance into an ordinary discussion club, which lost its effectiveness, American historian and international relations specialist Edward Luttwak in a column he contributed to French magazine Courrier international.
He believes "that the alliance was valuable as a military alliance when it united countries capable of defending themselves. With the inclusion of states such as Estonia and Poland, it has ceased to be an effective military structure."
In his opinion, there is practically no point in meetings held by the leaders of the organization's member states. "The culmination of NATO's activities is the solemn summits with waving flags, where new members are enthusiastically welcomed without thinking about their defense capabilities. The heads of state and government come there with the illusion that ‘there is strength in unity,’ not considering how difficult it is to come to an agreement in such a wide composition," Luttwak said.
He believes that the reliability of the alliance for its members is also questionable. "Article 5 of the NATO Charter suggests that an armed attack on one or more countries of the organization will be considered an attack on the alliance. But amid the rhetoric of US President Donald Trump, this does not mean the automatic dispatch of troops," the expert believes.
"For example, during the invasion of Estonia, the United States may limit itself to sending only a reconnaissance aircraft there. Formally, this will be in compliance with the NATO Charter."
Luttwak believes that France, Great Britain and Germany should play a leading role in the North Atlantic Alliance. In his opinion, these countries have well-trained armies and are able to negotiate with each other much faster than the NATO members. The expert suggested that these three countries could create an alliance with expanded powers under the auspices of the alliance.
A NATO summit is taking place in the Hague from 24 to 25 of June. Its main theme is to increase the lower threshold of defense spending by the member states to 5% of GDP.