Presumptions about NATO

A recent Quora question, asks “Is Noam Chomsky’s comment that ‘NATO should not have moved an inch east of Germany’ ignoring the desires of the eastern European states?

The use of direct quotes there is dishonest unless Chomsky actually said those exact words. But regardless of whether or not he actually said it, why should NATO members not have ignored the desires of the eastern European states?

NATO is not a general purpose service organization, but a military alliance between states who see one another as sufficiently similar, stable, and responsible, to justify risking their own safety in defence of one another essentially without question. And the desires of others to be covered by that umbrella creates no obligation whatsoever to actually include them.

This is very different from whatever obligation may exist to protect all states from attack by neighbours – which is the responsibility of the UN and subject to a more deliberative and less hair-trigger response.

Source: (375) Alan Cooper’s answer to Is Noam Chomsky’s comment that ‘NATO should not have moved an inch east of Germany’ ignoring the desires of the eastern European states? – Quora

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