Donald Trump is right about one thing. The European members of the NATO alliance have long taken it for granted that the United States would always be their security umbrella. Because of this, the Europeans, with few exceptions, have ignored repeated calls by successive U.S. administrations to share more of the burden for their collective security and defense.

That said, the Republican presidential nominee’s idea that the United States should wash its hands of NATO horrifies the Pentagon, the State Department and America’s European allies. Without America, NATO would become toothless. The United States would lose valuable allies, and Europe would become highly vulnerable. The transatlantic alliance would be dealt a nail in the coffin.

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