Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky is advocating for the U.S. to sever ties with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
“Hawaii is not covered by the NATO treaty. Some experts say that needs to change. I say, let’s get the other 49 states out,” Massie tweeted when sharing a CNN article titled, “This US state is not covered by the NATO treaty. Some experts say that needs to change.”
GOP Sen. Mike Lee of Utah retweeted Massie and posed the question, “If NATO won’t cover all of America, why should America cover all of NATO?”
Massie has previously advocated for the U.S. to leave the NATO alliance.
“I would withdraw us from NATO,” Massie said, according to a 2022 Washington Post article. “It’s a Cold War relic. Our involvement should have ceased when the [Berlin] wall fell and the Soviet Union collapsed.”
CNN reported that a State Department spokesperson suggested that while Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty does not extend to Hawaii, Article 4 should cover any scenario that could impact that state.
Article 5 reads, in part, “The Parties agree that an armed attack against one or more of them in Europe or North America shall be considered an attack against them all and consequently they agree that, if such an armed attack occurs, each of them, in exercise of the right of individual or collective self-defence recognised by Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations, will assist the Party or Parties so attacked by taking forthwith, individually and in concert with the other Parties, such action as it deems necessary, including the use of armed force, to restore and maintain the security of the North Atlantic area.”
Article 4 states, “The Parties will consult together whenever, in the opinion of any of them, the territorial integrity, political independence or security of any of the Parties is threatened.”
Defense Sec. Lloyd Austin has said that NATO is critical to U.S. security.
“NATO is the strongest military alliance in history, and it is crucial for America’s continued security,” Austin claimed in a statement. “A secure America is impossible without a strong NATO.”
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