Sorry, Mr. President. But that’s Not how NATO Works

Let me help you out here

For those not on BlueSky or X (bless you), here is thread I posted yesterday helping the President of the United States understand how NATO actually works. I thought it might be worth sharing with you, my subscribers and followers. Please

1. Sorry Mr. President, but that’s not how NATO works. Let me help you out. A🧵

Trump on NATO: “I was doing a test. I said, ‘I’d love to have you come up. Bring your boats. You can sail through the beautiful Hormuz Straits and you can protect people that are being shot at.’ They didn’t do it. And that’s small potatoes. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

2. NATO’s founding document is the North Atlantic Treaty, signed Apri 4, 1949 (77 years ago next week). It’s short, very readable, and has just 14 articles. nato.int

3. NATO is a defensive alliance, whose main purpose is to deter and, if necessary, defend against an “armed attack” against a member state. It commits members to regard an armed attack “against one as an attack against all.” (Art 5)

4. NATO collective defense is geographically limited to the territory of its members in Europe and North America, ships and islands in the Atlantic north of the Tropic of Cancer. (Art 6)

5. NATO calls for allies to consult with each other when, in the opinion of one, “the territorial integrity, political independence or security of any of the Parties is threatened.” (Art 4)

6. Any decision by NATO to act, either in response to an armed attack or to help protect the security of one or more of its members, shall be taken by consensus. Though not in the treaty, this has been the customary practice from the outset.
   

7. NATO has acted militarily in many ways and conflicts, from Balkans in the 1990s to anti-terror and counter-piracy operations in the 2000s to training forces in Iraq and protecting civilians in Libya in the 2010s.

   

8. It has only invoked Art 5 once, on December 12, 2001, in response to the armed attack on the United States. NATO deployed aerial surveillance aircraft to protect US skies and led the Afghan security mission from 2004 onwards.

   

9. Allies did so not because their security was directly threatened, but because an ally had been attacked. Their efforts cost the lives of more than 1,000 soldiers.

10. Now, let’s consider how Iran fits this framework. (Spoiler: It doesn’t)
    
    First, Iran did not attack NATO territory. Israel and the US attacked Iran, first in June 2025 and then again on February 28. There was no armed attack against NATO, nor an imminent threat against NATO.

11. Iran could be seen as a threat to NATO security. But no member asked for consultations under Art 4. In fact, the war was launched without consultations or even a warning. Two NATO defense ministers were in Dubai unbeknownst a war had started.

    

12. The first time your administration asked NATO countries to help was weeks into the war, mainly to help open the Strait of Hormuz which Iran closed in response to the US-Israeli attack, a possibility that you apparently disregarded before the war began.

    

13. Some allies offered to help, but they’re still waiting for a response from the Pentagon. Others said any assistance would only come after hostilities ended. This, after all, is not a war they started or were asked to be part of before it did.

    

14. This wasn’t any test for NATO. It was a unilateral decision to go to war. Nevertheless, allies opened their airspace and bases to help the US bombing campaign, without which this war would not be possible.

15. When the time comes to clear the Strait of mines and escort commercial shipping, many allies will deploy capabilities the US no longer has. That’s what allies do. That’s what NATO is all about. Thank you for your attention to this matter.