NIMBY NATO?
Waltz: US allies starting to ‘come around’ to reopening Strait of Hormuz
by Max Rego
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz said Sunday that American allies are beginning to “come around” on providing support to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which President Trump has urged them to do.
“We are seeing our allies come around as they should, but at the same time, the president is not going to stand for this regime, as it has threatened and tried for five decades to hold the world’s energy supplies hostage under its genocidal intent,” Waltz told host Margaret Brennan on CBS’s “Face the Nation.”
Initially, NATO allies and other countries around the world expressed uncertainty about providing military support for reopening the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has effectively closed amid U.S.-Israeli strikes. That has resulted in energy prices spiking globally, with an impact at the pump in the U.S.
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“We express our readiness to contribute to appropriate efforts to ensure safe passage through the Strait,” the leaders wrote in a letter. “We welcome the commitment of nations who are engaging in preparatory planning.”
Marvelous, NATO has almost nearly started to contribute to the Iran conflict. Britain has even just allowed us to use their bases to strike Iranian targets threatening the Straights of Hormuz. Thanks Nigel, not like you were using them anyway.
What happened to “Not our war!” our purported allies were chanting in unison just a day ago? “This is not our war, we have not started it,” German defense Minister Boris Pistorius opined. The European Union’s foreign policy chief, Kalla Kajas, echoed a similar refrain, saying, “This is not Europe’s war.”
This has enraged Trump, leading him to ponder the usefulness of NATO. It is rich of European leaders touting how the four years of Russo-Ukrainian War is America’s War, then suddenly adopt a “Not my circus, not my monkeys” attitude over Iran. “Not our war” will absolutely be thrown back in the face of the Euros the next time they ask the United States for any military aid package.
Sending minesweepers would be an easy way to earn some good will with the administration. It’s not as if the Iran War is one which they heavily disagree with; all major Western capitals essentially cheer the war. But the EU with its population replacement, a weakened Russia, slowing and already broken rearmament promises, NATO needs every reason it can get to keep itself relevant to the United States. At least NATO General Secretary Mark Rutte seems to understand this.
Category: NATO
