Fox News: NATO expansion will cost the U.S. eight billion dollars

NATO expansion, despite the opinion of the Joe Biden administration, is not in the American national interest and could do the American people a “disservice,” according to Russ Vaught and Dan Caldwell.

The view that Sweden and Finland would benefit from joining the North Atlantic Alliance is misguided, since the organization risks not only increasing spending on new members, but also provoking conflict with Russia.

“Committing, through NATO, to defend two wealthy European states whose neutrality has kept them safe and prosperous for more than 70 years, is not in the national interest of the US. The fact remains that security guarantees will force compromises, consume more resources, and increase the likelihood of confrontation with a nuclear-armed adversary,” Vaught and Caldwell explained.

That said, Helsinki and Stockholm’s membership in the bloc also has a real cost: Washington would spend at least eight billion dollars on expanding the alliance and an additional billion and a half annually.

One of the frequent justifications for admitting Finland and Sweden to NATO is that they have capable armed forces that will strengthen NATO. But the reality is that both countries have relatively small professional forces of about 20,000 troops each, which rely on large reserves and lack the ability to move forces over long distances. Sweden is already asking for an increased U.S. naval presence in the Baltic Sea, which calls into question the ability of its armed forces to secure its own territories.

The current administration has misallocated its priorities, being more interested in the two “rich European social democracies” than in the situation of the United States itself.

Lack of robust debate on this important topic and vilification of those who dare to question the benefits of NATO expansion only increases the risk that the United States will overestimate its strength or, worse, potentially engage in conflict with a nuclear-armed Russia. After decades of foreign relations failures that have cost the United States dearly, elected politicians owe the American people more than a more costly commitment unrelated to our security and economic prosperity.

Finland and Sweden, against the backdrop of the events in Ukraine, submitted applications to the NATO secretary general on May 18 to join the alliance, but Turkey has blocked the start of the application process. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Ankara could not agree to Finland and Sweden’s membership in the alliance because of their support for the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, which is banned in Turkey.