Bolton: Trump almost withdrew from NATO during a meeting in Brussels and I was near him (Reuters)

Former US National Security Advisor John Bolton says he is certain that former President Donald Trump's real plan for NATO is to eliminate the alliance and not to strengthen it by pressuring allies to increase their spending on the alliance.

This was stated during an interview conducted by the American magazine "Politico" with Bolton, who worked during Trump's rule, where he indicated that he did not believe what Trump said in his story about telling an unnamed head of state that he would encourage Russia to do "whatever it wants" with countries that do not... It meets NATO's defense spending standards, but he is certain that Trump's threats to abandon the alliance are real.

Bolton told the magazine that he was there when Trump almost withdrew from the alliance, adding that Trump does not negotiate, and his goal is not to strengthen NATO, but rather to lay the foundation for exiting it.

Even if they fulfill their obligations

He added that he did not believe Trump would stop threatening allies if they met NATO's goal of spending 2% of GDP on defense.

Bolton said that he wants Trump's defenders to realize this, and he expressed his belief that there are some Republicans who support Trump who say that what he says is not a big problem, that he will not do that, and so on, stressing: "I tell them, I was there near him in Brussels." When he did that."

Bolton warned that if Trump destroys NATO, the consequences will be dire. He explained that America has been telling NATO allies for decades that they must increase their defense spending to strengthen the alliance, so that the United States can be more flexible around the world, but when Trump complains that NATO allies are not spending enough on defense, he does not complain. To get them to strengthen NATO, he is using this to strengthen his excuse for leaving the alliance.

Congress will not restrict Trump

In response to a note from the magazine that Congress had enacted new restrictions that could limit the president's ability to leave NATO, and that that would constrain Trump, Bolton responded that it had not been finalized whether the president could unilaterally withdraw from any treaty, as This has happened repeatedly throughout American history.

The former National Security Advisor confirmed that he personally participated in several examples: George W. Bush’s withdrawal from the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, Trump’s withdrawal from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, and from the Open Skies Treaty with Russia, adding that what Congress enacted “will not restrain him.” ".

Bolton explained that America's withdrawal from NATO would be devastating, and that Trump "has no idea what the alliance structures do and how useful they are. He spent 4 years as president, and he knew nothing about NATO structures or their usefulness when he entered the White House, and he knew nothing about them when he left." ".

Source: Politico