Can NATO Defend Itself, and Europe, Without America?

According to my morning paper, it can’t.

“The Nato secretary general, Mark Rutte, was typically blunt when he met members of the European parliament this week. From the dais of the blond-wood committee room in Brussels, he was clear: “If anyone thinks that the European Union, or Europe as a whole, can defend itself without the US, keep on dreaming. You can’t. We can’t.”

I beg to differ, but I suppose it depends upon who Europe determines its enemy might be.

Silly me, but I had always expected that to be Russia, and if the whole of NATO is unable to accomplish what tiny Ukraine has done for three (and coming on four) years, then things are indeed in dire straits.

So, let’s try to put some corners on it.

At present, NATO has 32 member countries:

Albania, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary (at least for now), Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Montenegro and North Macedonia (both, recent powerhouses), Norw…