The idea that Washington would militarily intervene in an ally nation has previously been considered unthinkable. The Trump administration is forcing NATO to use its imagination.
NATO has hundreds and hundreds of pages of detailed military plans on how to protect itself against attack, but the scenarios of deterrence and defense always envisioned an external adversary. There's no playbook on how to handle President Donald Trump's ramped-up threats to take over territory of an ally by any means necessary. NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte's strategy so far has been to remain silent, which won't work for long.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has sought to tamp down the US appetite by warning Monday that "if the US chooses to attack another NATO country militarily, then everything stops, including NATO and thus the security that has been established since the end of the Second World War."
Talk not cheap for NATO credibility
But even short of — or perhaps ahead of — any military movements, the impact of the escalating rhetoric alone cannot be underestimated.
"It is a huge victory for [Russian President Vladimir] Putin that we're even having this discussion," noted Patrik O
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