Former NATO Leader Holds US Responsible for Global Conflicts Due to “Hesitance”

Anders Fogh Rasmussen, former NATO Secretary General, attributed the surge of conflicts occurring worldwide to the “reluctance” of the United States to take action. He cited Barack Obama as the starting point for the trend of “retreat” in the Middle East.

Rasmussen, who led NATO from 2009 to 2014, expressed his views in an interview with Politico, and cautioned that Taiwan could be the next crisis if President Joe Biden does not stand firm against China. He emphasized the need for setting expectations with China.

“Time and again we see that … if the U.S. is not exercising global leadership, then the bad guys would take advantage of the situation,” Rasmussen told Politico. “When America leads, then the bad guys retreat.”

Rasmussen blamed the weakness of the U.S. under Obama for not responding to Putin’s annexation of Crimea in 2014, which ultimately led to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“Recent global events in the Taiwan Strait, in the Middle East are all results of American hesitance to actually lead,” Rasmussen said.

Additionally, Rasmussen pointed fingers at former President Donald Trump, who had criticized and undermined the role of NATO during his presidency and afterwards. According to European leaders, Trump vowed to withdraw from NATO and stated that he would not come to Europe’s aid in the event of an attack.

“For good and bad, we need a global policeman, and the U.S. is the only power on earth that can exercise that job,” Rasmussen said.

Offering his perspective on American politics, the former Prime Minister of Denmark suggested that Democrats should negotiate with Republicans on the border issue to make it a non-issue in the upcoming general election.

“If I were asked by Democrats what to do, my advice would be to accommodate Republican views on the border issue and create a package with four elements: support for Ukraine, support for Israel, support for Taiwan, and solve the border issue,” Rasmussen said.