Nato a 'paper tiger', considering pulling US out of it: Donald Trump

US President Donald Trump called Nato a 'paper tiger' and said US withdrawal is 'beyond reconsideration' after the bloc members refused to participate in the Iran war

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday criticised the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato), saying he is "strongly considering" pulling the US out of the alliance.

 

In an interview with the British daily The Telegraph, Trump termed the military bloc a "paper tiger".

 

"I was never swayed by Nato. I always knew they were a paper tiger, and Putin knows that too, by the way," Trump said, adding that the US' removal from it was now "beyond reconsideration".

 

The remark comes against the backdrop of Nato members' unwillingness to participate in the US and Israel's war against Iran. Trump had called on allies to send naval escorts to help secure shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway facing disruption amid the conflict with Iran. However, many allies, including the Nato members, were reluctant to do so. 

 

 

"Beyond not being there, it was actually hard to believe... I just think it should be automatic. We’ve been there automatically, including Ukraine. Ukraine wasn’t our problem. It was a test, and we were there for them, and we would always have been there for them. They weren’t there for us," Trump told the newspaper.

 

He further went on to criticise British Prime Minister Keir Starmer for refusing to send naval ships to the region. "You don’t even have a navy. You’re too old and had aircraft carriers that didn’t work," he said.

 

Trump’s criticism comes shortly after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in an interview with Fox News, criticised Nato, calling it a "one-way street".

 

"We’re going to have to re-examine the value of Nato and that alliance for our country...If Nato is just about us defending Europe if they’re attacked, but them denying us basing rights when we need them, that’s not a very good arrangement. That’s a hard one to stay engaged in," Rubio added. 

 

According to The Telegraph, the US’ calls for allies to join the conflict in Iran raise questions about the applicability of Nato's Article 5, which states that an "attack on one is an attack on all". The report, however, noted that the clause applies only when a Nato member is attacked, a condition not met in the current conflict, which began after airstrikes by the US and Israel.

 

According to Nato's website, the clause has only been invoked once before, after the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001. More than 1,100 non-US troops were killed in the subsequent war in Afghanistan, the report added.