Attack on one and all
Montenegro, a Balkan nation smaller than several California counties and less populous than San Francisco, seldom attracts the attention, much less the derision, of U.S. presidents. Russian presidents are a different story: In 2016, Vladimir Putin’s operatives reportedly schemed not only to alter the course of America’s democracy but also to violently overthrow Montenegro’s.
America’s stance on Montenegro took a distinctly Russian turn this week. Asked on Fox News why the country, which became NATO’s newest member last year, deserves U.S. protection, Trump said, “I’ve asked the same question. Montenegro is a tiny country with very strong people . ... They have very aggressive people. They may get aggressive, and congratulations, you’re in World War III.”
It was the latest volley in Trump’s assault on Article 5, the NATO linchpin declaring an armed attack on one member an attack on all. It was also among a series of recent administration positions with no conceivable benefit other than pleasing Putin — from softpedaling Russia’s downing of an airliner to failing to immediately reject an outrageous request to interrogate a former U.S. ambassador.
Trump’s case against NATO continues to rely on the sort of disinformation that would make the Russians proud. The idea that Montenegro would provoke a conflict is at odds with its size and situation, but if it did, the United States would not be obliged to participate. Article 5 speaks to collective defense, not wars of choice.
Moreover, the article has been invoked only once, by the United States after 9/11, which is why Montenegrins are among the forces in Afghanistan to this day. Their service there makes Trump’s critique that much more insulting.
Situated in a region of Europe that has become a byword for strife, Montenegro has been ruled by the Ottoman Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Axis powers, Yugoslavia and Serbia. In 2006, it became independent for the first time since World War I, the sort of vulnerable democracy America once proudly protected.
It certainly needs protection. Putin rues the Soviet dissolution and regards the Balkans as rightfully subject to Russian hegemony. In October 2016, according to official charges and independent research, agents of the Russian military intelligence agency, the GRU, conspired to stage an election-night coup and assassinate the prime minister in a last-ditch effort to keep Montenegro out of NATO.
An indictment unsealed last week charged a dozen GRU agents in a contemporaneous cyber-campaign to elect Trump. The president’s remarks this week suggest that what Russian saboteurs attempted in Montenegro is being achieved in America.