Romney: Obama is undermining NATO
CHICAGO--As leaders from the 28 NATO member countries descend this morning on the city's lakefront for the most-widely anticipated meeting of the alliance in years, Mitt Romney is accusing President Obama of undermining NATO.
Both Democratic and Republican administration have long been concerned that NATO could be heading toward military irrelevance as only three of the members meeting their pledge spend at 2% of gross domestic product on defense. But Romney argued in op-ed in the Chicago Tribune that Obama deserves particular blame.
"While military underinvestment is an old problem for NATO, a lack of American leadership on the issue is an alarming new development," Romney wrote. "Instead of working to strengthen NATO, the Obama administration has taken actions that will only undermine the alliance."
While much of the next two days of talks will center on winding down the war in Afghanistan, there' s growing concern on both sides of the Atlantic about the future of the alliance, noted Stephen Flanagan, a national security analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.
Flanagan said to expect Obama to reaffirm—as he has in his past travels to Europe and during visits to Washington by leaders such as Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron—that Europe remains profoundly important to the United States.
"I think that he will sound, and others in the administration will sound, that Europe still remains Washington's reliable partner of choice in dealing with international security problems," Flanagan said.
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But Romney argues that Obama's rhetoric isn't backed up by his actions.
In particular, Romney pointed Obama's signing a budget agreement last year that calls for a $1 trillion in cuts to the defense budget over the next decade and raised concern about the Air Force and Navy's shrinking fleet.
He also said that Obama treated two NATO allies—Poland and Czech Republic—"shabbily" with his decision to withdraw from a George W. Bush era agreement to station missile defense sites in both of those countries.
"With the United States on a path to a hollow military, we are hardly in a position to exercise leadership in persuading our allies to spend more on security," Romney wrote. "And in fact the Obama administration has failed to exercise such leadership. Quite the contrary; a multiplier effect has set in: The administration's irresponsible defense cuts are clearing the way for our partners to do even less."
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