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With a military personnel of 1.3 million, the United States has the largest military in the 31-member NATO alliance with a total of 3.3 million members.
American troops are deployed elsewhere in Europe: in NATO member countries, such as Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Germany, but also in non-member countries, such as Kosovo or Cyprus. Their purpose is peacekeeping or some other cooperative mission. In Kosovo, NATO's peacekeeping mission, KFOR, currently has over 4,400 soldiers, of which 572 are Americans. Their mandate is to maintain peace and prevent any new hostilities against Kosovo.
How many troops does NATO have in Kosovo?
A total of 4,443 troops from 28 countries of the world are currently serving in Kosovo, within the peacekeeping mission of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), KFOR. More than half of the forces are from Italy, the United States of America, Hungary and Turkey. NATO has increased its presence in Kosovo during 2023, after the increase in tensions in the north inhabited by a Serbian majority.
Last week, the former American president, Donald Trump, who is expected to compete again in the presidential elections in November, stunned the allies on this side of the Atlantic, with several statements that challenge the unitary character of NATO. Speaking at a political rally in South Carolina, he said the US may not protect allies that do not spend enough on defense if they are attacked by Russia.
"I will not protect you. In fact, I would encourage [Russia] to do whatever the hell it wants. You have to pay. You have to pay the bills ," Trump said.
Lemeri was the common denominator of the reaction of the allies in Europe. Meanwhile, the American president, Joe Biden, who is most likely to be challenged by Trump in the race for re-election in November, has said that his statements are "dangerous, shameful and un-American".
"As long as I'm president, if Russian President Vladimir Putin attacks a NATO member, the US will defend every inch of NATO territory ," Biden said.
Founded as early as 1949, with the aim of blocking the expansion of the then Soviet Union, the largest military alliance in the world operates on the principle of mutual defense, which means that an attack against one member is considered an attack against all members.
When Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, NATO said it posed "the biggest and most direct threat to the security of allies".
But Trump has a long history of inflammatory comments against NATO. As president from 2017 to 2021, he has repeatedly criticized member states that do not exceed minimum defense spending thresholds and has said on several occasions that he would like the US to withdraw from NATO altogether.
To prevent eventual withdrawal, the US Congress passed a law last December that limits the power of the president in this regard.
The law states that the president "shall not suspend, terminate, or withdraw U.S. participation in the North Atlantic Treaty without a majority vote of the Senate or an act passed by Congress."
That, however, does not stop a president from taking actions that divide NATO, says Kurt Volker, former US ambassador to NATO.
Speaking on Radio Free Europe's Expose programme, he says the US president has enormous powers over how the US interacts with allies. He can reduce the number of exercises in which Americans participate, he can stop payments for NATO infrastructure and more.
"He can reduce America's actions and commitments, including the presence in Kosovo, the presence in the Baltic states, or the presence in Germany. As commander-in-chief, there are many options that people have to think about ," says Volker.
Even in this scenario, he adds, the US would be obliged to protect NATO allies, but it would not be prepared. According to him, it is not enough just to say that we are together, but there must also be capacities.
And this statement is echoed by Kathleen McInnis, NATO expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
"The whole discussion has focused on who spends more on defense and we have forgotten the situation as a whole. Without a presence in Europe, the US cannot participate in coalition operations, expeditions, counter-terrorism operations in Africa or the Middle East. "NATO is extremely worth the money that the US gives," says McInnis to Expose.
The USA, after Poland, is the largest financial contributor to NATO. NATO's power to deter an aggressor's attacks relies exclusively on US weaponry, Volker says.
"The United States possesses 50 to 60 percent of NATO's military capabilities. They have a nuclear deterrent that covers the entire alliance. I don't think it is easy to replace", according to him.
Many US presidents, from Harry Truman to Barack Obama, have also called on European countries to increase defense spending, but most have done so privately.
According to data published by NATO, in 2023, only 11 of the 31 member countries have implemented the alliance's guideline to spend at least two percent of gross domestic product (GDP) on defense.
Less than half of the members fulfill their financial obligations to NATO
In 2023, only 11 of the 31 member countries of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) implemented the military alliance's guideline of spending two percent of gross domestic product on defense.
“Polonia, për shembull, do të shpenzojë 4% të PBB-së së saj për mbrojtje këtë vit. Ajo po blen edhe pajisje moderne dhe po ndërton një nga ushtritë më të mira në NATO për momentin. Edhe vende të tjera kanë filluar ta bëjnë këtë. Por, disa vende të mëdha, si Mbretëria e Bashkuar, Franca, Gjermania, kanë investuar pak dhe nuk i kanë kapacitetet që do të duheshin”, thotë Volker.
Dhe, pikërisht zyrtarët ushtarakë në vendet si Mbretëria e Bashkuar dhe Gjermania e kanë paralajmëruar publikun e tyre që të përgatitet për luftë potenciale me Rusinë.
“Është një moment vërtet shqetësues”, thotë McInnis nga Qendra për Studime Strategjike dhe Ndërkombëtare.
“Do të duhej shumë punë për ta mbështetur mbrojtjen e Evropës kundër pushtimit të mundshëm rus. Lufta tani është në Ukrainë, por ka shumë spekulime se Moska mund ta zhvendosë atë në ish-territoret e saj perandorake, që tani janë vende të NATO-s”, shton ajo.
Kremlini nuk i ka komentuar deklaratat e Trumpit, të cilat ai vetë i ka përsëritur edhe këtë javë.
Por, shefi i NATO-s, Jens Stoltenberg, ka thënë se Evropa nuk duhet të bëjë përpjekje për të vazhduar e vetme në mbrojtje.
“Çdo përpjekje për ta shkëputur Evropën nga Amerika e Veriut, do ta ndante edhe Evropën. Qëllimi im kryesor është që, pavarësisht dallimeve që kemi, të vazhdojmë të qëndrojmë të bashkuar dhe ta mbrojmë njëri-tjetrin”, ka thënë Stoltenberg.
Dhe, pyetja që ia vlen të konsiderohet në këtë situatë, është: A mund të mbijetojë NATO-ja pa Amerikën?
“Teknikisht, NATO-ja është organizatë e të gjitha vendeve anëtare dhe nëse një vend anëtar, dëshiron të largohet me vullnetin e tij, asgjë nuk ndryshon për askënd. Pra, teknikisht, NATO-ja do të jetë aty, por nuk do t’i ketë kapacitetet që i ka me Shtetet e Bashkuara dhe këtu është dallimi”, thotë Volker.
“Do të ishte shumë ndryshe. Kapacitetet do të ishin shumë ndryshe. Evropa ka parandalues bërthamor. Edhe Mbretëria e Bashkuar, edhe Franca kanë armë bërthamore. Pra, ekziston një lloj i mbrojtjes. Do të ishte më sfiduese, por jo e pamundur”, thotë McInnis.
Deri më tash, asnjë vend nuk është tërhequr ndonjëherë nga NATO-ja. Neni i statutit të NATO-s që tregon se si një vend mund të tërhiqet, është edhe një dëshmi se sa e rëndësishme është SHBA-ja për organizatën.
Sipas këtij neni, “një vend që dëshiron të tërhiqet, duhet t’i njoftojë Shtetet e Bashkuara një vit përpara se planifikon të dalë”.
Javën e kaluar, kur republikanët në Kongresin amerikan kanë bllokuar një paketë të ndihmës ushtarake për Ukrainën, kryeministri i Polonisë, Donald Tusk, u është kthyer atyre me fjalët:
“Të nderuar senatorë republikanë të Amerikës, Ronald Reagan, i cili ka ndihmuar miliona prej nesh për të rifituar lirinë dhe pavarësinë tonë, do të jetë rrotulluar sot në varr. Turp të keni”, ka shkruar Tusk në platformën X më 8 shkurt.
Ronald Reagan served as president of the USA from 1981 to 1989. He was known for his determination to destroy communism and the Soviet Union.
Reagan may be rolling in his grave even as his potential successor, Donald Trump, has broken a US promise to defend European allies unless they increase their defense budgets. Furthermore, he encouraged Russia to "do whatever the hell it wants" with them./ REL
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