President Donald Trump was put on notice Monday by a senior European official — international security is not a one way street.
Amid Trump’s bluster over its NATO allies — pushing last month for its members to pay 5 percent of their GDP to fund the organization and suggesting that America has, for too long, delivered security while paying more than its fair share, Poland’s foreign minister hit back.
Radoslaw Sikorski wrote in the New York Times that Trump shouldn’t forget how much America owes NATO.
And he warned the president that taking aim at his allies is emboldening his enemies.
“The trans-Atlantic alliance has never been a one-way street,” he wrote.
“The United States supported European defense for decades after World War II, but the only time NATO’s Article 5 has ever been invoked was in response to Sept. 11, when allies came to America’s aid. Poland sent brigades to Afghanistan and Iraq, and kept them there for almost two decades.
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“It never sent a bill.”
Sikorski warned that many were delighted to see Trump take aim at NATO.
“In 2025, those who do not wish us well are many,” he wrote.
“The autocratic axis comprising Russia, Iran, North Korea and China represents a grave threat to much of the world. To face such an alliance, America and Europe need each other more, not less — our adversaries want nothing more than to see us fragmented, plagued by economic disputes and unable to lead.
“Instead, let’s continue on the path of partnership, of peace through strength, as friends and allies.”
