Following similar threats over the past days from his secretary of state and secretary of war, Donald Trump has today said he is considering taking the United States out of NATO in retaliation for European countries not joining his war on Iran. But his words reflect a far more troubling reality than his empty threats: the US is already effectively out of NATO, even if it technically remains in.
“I was never swayed by NATO. I always knew they were a paper tiger, and Putin knows that too, by the way,” Trump told The Telegraph newspaper in an apparent cold call. The comments came hours after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Fox News that if Europe doesn’t join this war then the US may leave NATO and pull its troops and bases out of Europe. “NATO wasn’t just about defending Europe, but allowing us to have military bases in Europe for our
