DISINFO: The US is prepared to attack any NATO ally for its own gain
SUMMARY
The biggest threat to NATO is that the US stands ready to attack any NATO ally for its own benefit. The US is using NATO as a tool, ready to be dismantled when necessary. By destroying Germany’s economy because the country demanded affordable Russian gas, the US proved that it is willing to abuse any NATO member in order to satisfy its own needs. All this shows that NATO has no reason to exist.
RESPONSE
A recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about the alleged lost sovereignty of European NATO members, especially EU member states (more examples). Pro-Kremlin outlets often describe European states as puppet states or vassals of the US and NATO. These claims serve to deflect responsibility from Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine and mislead readers about NATO and its members.
Contrary to the claim, the European Union is a sovereign entity created by the voluntary initiative of European nations and it has its own, independent foreign policy, while the US has no say in its decisions. The EU and NATO are composed of sovereign member states and membership in the organizations is entirely voluntary.
NATO is not a US territorial expansion tool but it is a collective defence alliance whose membership is voluntary, and where decisions are adopted through consultation and consensus. NATO member countries don’t follow US orders but have their own agency, as proven by multiple episodes of disagreements inside the alliance, such as the refusal of Germany, France and other countries to let it take part in the invasion of Iraq in 2003 against US wishes or, more recently, Hungary and Turkey’s obstruction for Sweden and Finland to join the block.
Furthermore, on 10 January 2023, the EU and NATO signed a Joint Declaration on Cooperation – this Declaration underlined a NATO-EU strategic partnership, condemned Russian aggression against Ukraine and presented NATO as a foundation for European and American collective defense.
Germany is not beholden to the US for its foreign policymaking or international trade. Germany and the US have close partner relations of two sovereign and independent countries and there is no evidence to suggest that the US has destroyed the German economy, which grew in 2022 despite the energy and inflation crises. After months of hesitation, on 25 January 2023 Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced that Germany would send tanks to Ukraine and allow European countries that bought the tanks to send them to Kyiv. With such actions, Chancellor Scholz maintained his country’s reputation with its allies while upending its relationship with Moscow.
Read similar disinformation cases claiming that EU and NATO member states are subordinate to the US, while the US has long regarded the EU as a kind of protectorate, that lined up with the US, the EU never took independent decisions and that Germany is the vassal of Washington.