Former NATO Secretary General Willy Claes: “high treason by the Americans. I try to stay calm but it’s difficult”

https://www.nieuwsblad.be/cnt/dmf20250217_96046540

by BelgianPolitics

33 comments

  1. *Translation (paywall removed, automated translation and some manual edits for mistakes)*

    In 1994 and 1995 he was Secretary-General of NATO for North Atlantic Treaty Organization. The alliance of 32 countries from Europe and North America works together on the political and military level, with peace and security in these countries as the main goal.

    What is currently happening on the world stage keeps him busy “I try to stay calm, but that’s hard because this chaos is unseen and complete. Don’t ask me a good word about the US at the moment,” Claes said. “For years, perhaps since 1917 when they declared war on Germany, the Americans have been in solidarity with Europe. This was certainly the case in World War II. Then they not only helped us free us from the Nazis, but they were also a great support in rebuilding. Until so long ago, they still thought it made sense to support Ukraine, a country that was invaded and occupied by the Russians in a cowardly way.”

    “But after those many years of perfect solidarity across the ocean, everything has changed since Trump’s presidency. This is high treason. It is the low point of the lows of a country that, last week, at the Munich Summit, thought that it could teach Europe a lesson in fundamental values. What a moronic speech, my apologies for these words, from Vice President J.D. Vance that was?”

    Former foreign minister Karel De Gucht did not call the United States an ally on Monday in an interview with the *Nieuwsblad*. In one breath, he added that NATO, of which Claes was the top man thirty years ago, does not suggest anything at all. His conclusion? That NATO better to break up. Claes himself, however, does not think that the end of NATO is near by the “high treason of the Americans” towards Europe. “I am not pessimistic in that respect. It is almost impossible for Trump to leave NATO, for which he is still preventively passed a law. The American president also knows that an exit would be very detrimental to his country. Our continent borders Russia, a country he describes as a danger and a challenge. Trump is well aware that you better have allies around when the aggression breaks out.”

    Claes also does not think that Europe will tear itself off the US. “Strictly militarily you cannot replace this NATO alliance with a European army. For that, there is far too little unanimity in Europe.” Claes says that he still knows how he spoke more willfully with French President Mitterrand about a European defense to be able to create more distance from the US militarily. He nodded in agreement. But Claes did get an obvious *nun, jamais* when he explained that Mitterand had to hand over his nuclear power. “For the creation of a European army, you must have unanimity among the countries. It’s impossible! It’s impossible! Stop with that unanimity rule immediately.

    According to Claes, Europe must, in the absence of unanimity, establish its own army, but maintain its connection with the US through NATO. He believes that every country, including Belgium, should make its contribution to the alliance. “If you are a member of a club, you pay membership fees. That makes sense.”

    The former NATO boss is at the same time convinced that it is urgent to develop more military forces in the short term and to make a serious effort to arm us. “Although I plead in one breath to carry plenty of disarmament dialogues in the world. – That’s urgent. The “red phone” *(the line between Moscow and Washington to prevent a nuclear war)* hardly works. We are going to start something that can no longer be stopped.”Claes does not think that Russia is immediately a great danger to Europe. “Of course, Putin has hostile intentions toward us, but his war chest is as good as exhausted.”

  2. I mean, it’s not a treason. It’s just a betrayal.

  3. We’re gradually moving from *the end of history* to *why liberalism failed*.

  4. Treason is hostile action taken against one owns state. The US is sovereign and doesn’t answer to another country.

  5. Who is foolish enough to continue trusting a partnership with the USA? This is the biggest mistake in American history—the decline of a capitalist empire. You cannot win when you oppress your partners like that 😂… This is beneficial for China and Russia… BRICS is the new paradigm 👍

  7. The state of the belgian military and its energy policy over the last decade is also high treason.

    Belgium has spent less than 1% of gdp on defence, and it was the only country in europe aggressively subsidizing growing gas use in order to close down nuclear power plants.

    Trump told us he’d do this for years. We should have prepared.

  8. > According to Claes, Europe must, in the absence of unanimity, establish its own army, but maintain its connection with the US through NATO.

    I’m an American and I’m all for this, but I just don’t see the political, or hell, moral will to spend hundreds of billions of Euros to make this a reality. Especially once you have to get down to brass tacks and start talking what gets cut to fund this kind of thing. Am I wildly off base to think along these lines?

  9. Vast majority of Americans support Nato and EU, it’s just the current admin that doesn’t.

  10. Working on it.

    Any tips would be helpful.

    Also, something on your wnd that will scare the Republicans in Congress so much that they actually put a leash and muzzle on Trump would be most appreciated.

  11. treason was building Nord Stream pipelines. treason is not supplying ukraine with Taurus missles. germans still simping for that cheap gas from r0ssia

  12. I’m legit sitting here hoping for a revolution. But it’s not coming because the people who should care just think this is ‘owning the libs’.

    Absolute psychopathy.

  13. This article doesn’t say why he thinks it is high treason.

    It does say that he thinks European countries should pay more money for defense. He also says Russia is not immediately a great danger to Europe.

    This article is all over the place and poorly written.

  14. Let’s go to mother fucker war Europe.

    American citizens are stupid and full of themselves, knock us back to a developing nation for a while.

  15. Claes is a slow learner, and a bit irrelevant these days.

  16. Europe has to stand with Ukraine. The US and ruzzia are gonna go against all of them. What kind of peace talks doesnt include both parties involved? The EU shouldn’t be that stupid.

  17. It’s fascinating people keep blaming Trump.

    Do Europeans my remember Bush?

    American foreign policy does not abd never will see Europeans as an equal. Wake up

  18. America has never been an ally to Europe. It has always been an investor who tries to exploit conflict on European soil. Americans don’t have values. They have economic interests.

  19. NATO needs to act now. Ukraine needs to be fast tracked for membership. Europe needs to wake up and get boots on the ground in Ukraine asap. Not inviting Zelensky to the recent European Union conference is a sign of weakness. I would be planning to defend Europe without US help right now. Unfortunately it seems European leaders are weak and will let Ukraine fall. That puts them in the crosshairs of Trump and Putin. Trump will extort Europe economically and politically while Putin will seek to pick off smaller countries with valuable resources. Ukraine falling will enable far right politics to gain a better foothold in Europe and open an internal ideological front while Putin applies external pressure.
    Ultimately nato needs to consider expelling America and countries that have American bases should consider collectively closing or downsizing those bases. Europe can use those bases and expell American forces. This is how I would approach Trump. If Trump is faced with four major base closures he might tow the line in Ukraine, but make no mistake, Ukraine falls and Europe and indeed the world will not remain unscathed.

  21. A wake up call for the European leaders that it is time to revitalize the European defence sector, industry and to enforce the protection of European borders. It is time to stop relying so much on the turn coat Uncle Sam.

  22. You know Trump Is a POS and making a mess but Europe shouldn’t just turn its back on the US. I think everyone needs to weather the storm not give putin even more of what he wants. Europe needs to weather the Trump storm just like we in the US. With all this chaos I hope voters are able to flip both the house and senate in 2 years and democrats victory in 4 years and maybe this could all just be a bad dream but NATO has go survive these 4 years and Europe will have to shoulder that burden or fall into putins trap

  23. “they not only helped us free us from the Nazis but they helped us in rebuilding”

    As an American, I think we’ll be needing this help as well to free us from the MAGAs and help us rebuild.

  24. It was treason to let americans pay to take bad political decisions that whole time

  25. The only thing Trump is good at – HIGH TREASON.

  26. TBF, It’s not the first time Trump has done a treason.

  27. Time for Europe to put boots on the ground in Ukraine no matter what the US says, and develop an EU army that can stand against the three big authoritarian threats of our age- America, China and Russia. If democracy is to prevail, it now falls on the EU to carry the torch. Please don’t let it go out.

  29. More or less all true, but the signs that Europe could not lean on the US forever have been showing for decades now. Instead of dealing with the situation Europe became dependent on Russia while hoping for the best.

  30. Did anyone actually listen to Pete Hegseth’s interview at NATO? This clarified the American position, which is that America is very committed to the alliance, that America sees Europe as a close friend and ally but just wants more defense spending from Europe due to the conditions and times of war. I don’t see how this is treason at all. In fact, that is just practical given the nature of the world to want your allies to be able to help themselves. He said America cannot be the sole guarantor of security everywhere all the time, and that is good since everyone would then also complain about American dominance. This is just smart. But of course, people would rather read headlines and sensationalism from a third party rather than, you know, listening to the actual worlds of the actual secretary of defense of the USA.

    https://youtu.be/jGZWCQYitFw?si=BcDcdZG84nyHoZ4w

  32. We were such a solid alliance back when it was just the US, UK, and Greece spending 2% on defense while everyone else did the bare minimum and bought as much Russian oil as needed.

  33. The Americans are turning their backs on you to force you to sort yourselves out. You’ve become weak and complacent under their umbrella of security. Now you can’t support yourselves defensively, and if other allies need you like Australia and Japan you won’t be able to help anyone as you can’t even look after yourselves.

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