Kellogg urges rethink of alliances, suggests replacing NATO

Retired US Lieutenant General Keith Kellogg has sharply criticised NATO, suggesting the alliance may need to be replaced following what he described as its ineffective response during the conflict involving Iran.

Speaking on the Hannity program by Fox News on Wednesday, April 1, Kellogg accused NATO allies of failing to adequately address the situation and argued that Washington should consider alternative defence arrangements with more willing partners.

"NATO's turn[ing] [out] to be cowards," Kellogg said.

"Maybe we need to have a new NATO, a new defensive establishment."

Kellogg also pointed to Article 13 of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation treaty framework, which allows any member state to withdraw one year after submitting a formal notice, as a potential pathway for change.

He went on to outline possible alternative alliance structures, suggesting the United States could deepen cooperation with countries prepared to take a more active role.

"Redraw the defence alignments we have, maybe create one with Japan and Australia and some of those European nations that are willing to go into the fight, like the new, reengaged Germany or Poland, as well. Even Ukraine, which has proven to be a good ally as well."

Former US Deputy National Security Advisor Victoria Coates echoed Kellogg’s criticism, arguing that NATO has demonstrated limited relevance in addressing major conflicts.

"They can't deal with the biggest war in Europe since World War II. On their own continent, they haven't been able to deal with it. So, I don't think we really need them in the Middle East. It would have been nice to have their support. But what President Trump has demonstrated is what the United States can do with a truly motivated ally like Israel," she said.

Coates added that the scale of damage inflicted on Iran’s military could serve as a deterrent signal to both Russia and China.

Former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also voiced concern over the current state of the alliance, describing the situation as deeply troubling.

"I've been someone who believed NATO was a very important set of allies for decades," Pompeo said.

"But to watch them be so feckless, not to be able to convince their own people, their own domestic audiences, that this matters, to explain to them why they're safer as a result of what the United States, with our friends in Israel, have done, and then to assist us in that mission set. ... I think there will have to be a fundamental rethinking about how it is the United States makes sure we figure out exactly who our allies are and what we can depend on them for."

By Tamilla Hasanova