Membership in NATO does not require every other alliance member to go to war with the country that made an armed attack on you.
I'm not in favor of admitting Ukraine to NATO any time soon. Definitely
not while the war is raging. And I'm merely persuadable after that. Although by demonstrating determination to fight, Ukraine has demonstrated it will not be a free rider in the alliance.
But contrary to the worry expressed by a number of people, Article V does not require countries to wage war if a member state is attacked.
If a member state suffers armed attack, Article V says each member
"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." [emphasis added]
Use of armed force is not required.
Certainly, when NATO was defending the Elbe River line between West and East Germany, participation in the military command structure made you commit to war when the Soviets started shooting. As did having your troops on the border with East Germany. That's why France pulled out of the command structure while remaining in NATO for such a long time during the Cold War.
But after NATO won the Cold War, the reduced threat was pushed so far east that there was no military plan that required instant action. Or any military plans at all until Putin's revival of war as an option to recover lost Soviet territory made such planning more urgent.
And even now as military plans are put into place, the threat is still so far east that many NATO states will almost certainly help but not fight Russia at H-Hour if Russia attacks NATO.
Remember, Article V was invoked after
the September 11, 2001 terror attacks on America. How many NATO
countries waged war with us in Afghanistan against our attackers? Members of the alliance helped. Which I appreciated. But few fought with us. Britain, Canada, and the Netherlands are the only NATO allies who consistently fought using regular units come to mind. The Special Forces Olympics nature of the war is another matter.
Let's not get confused about what membership provides or requires as we debate Ukraine's desire to enter NATO.
NOTE: The image was made from DALL-E.
NOTE: TDR Winter War of 2022 continues here.
