Krauthammer mistakenly thinks NATO worth saving . . .

A First Step Toward Rebuilding NATO | Stock News & Stock Market Analysis - IBD

​. . . it isn't.

More after the break.

"The message to Putin is clear: Yes, you've taken parts of Georgia and Ukraine. But they're not NATO. That territory is sacred -- or so we say.

This is a welcome development for the Balts, who are wondering whether they really did achieve irreversible independence when the West won the Cold War. Their apprehension is grounded in NATO's flaccid response to Putin's aggressive revanchism, particularly in Ukraine. Obama still won't provide Ukraine with even defensive weaponry. This follows years of American accommodation of Putin, from canceling a Polish-Czech missile defense system to, most recently, openly acquiescing to Russia's seizure of a dominant role in Syria.

And what are the East Europeans to think when they hear the presumptive presidential candidate of the party of Reagan speaking dismissively of NATO and suggesting a possible American exit?"

It depends upon the consequences of an American exit. If America exits and retreats behind the Atlantic "wall," that would be bad for Eastern Europe and the Baltics. On the other hand, if America simply exited NATO because the Western European nations are unwilling to take reasons able actions to support their security, and this allowed America to direct its primary support to the Eastern European, and Baltic nation, this would be seen as a power beneficial change for the East. 

"The NATO action takes on even greater significance because of the timing, coming just two weeks after Brexit. Britain's withdrawal threatens the future of the other major pillar of Western integration and solidarity, the European Union. NATO shows that it is holding fast, and that the vital instrument of Western cohesion and joint action will henceforth be almost entirely trans-Atlantic -- meaning, under American leadership.

The EU, even if it doesn't dissolve, will now inevitably turn inward as it spends years working out its new communal arrangements with and without Britain. Putin was Brexit's big winner. Any fracturing of the Western alliance presents opportunities to play one member against another. He can only be disappointed to see NATO step up and step in."

NATO is a vital instrument of Western cohesion?! What is Krauthammer thinking? NATO is an opportunity for America to act as parent, and Europe to act as the adult child living in the basement in the US/European relationship. This is unhealthy, and fosters frustration, and anger in both parties. Western Europe is no longer willing to provide for its own security. It relies nearly entirely on America. This is not the relationship we entered into when we initiated NATO. 

Europe is sufficiently wealthy that it must pay its own way, and take responsibility for its own security. We should not provide for European security.

What we need to do is stop fighting the Cold War Strawman. The Cold War is over. The need for NATO has changed, indeed, it may have passed. We need to partner with nations serious about their security. We should draw down our troops in NATO nations, and begin to move towards more robust security relations with the serious nations in the Balkans, and Eastern Europe. 

Trump is essentially correct in this fight, NATO is no longer what it once was, and there is little reason to believe it will ever regain it former value.