[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 535 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>






115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 535

 Reaffirming the United States commitment to the North Atlantic Treaty 
                             Organization.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              June 6, 2018

 Mr. Durbin (for himself, Mr. Kaine, Mr. Cardin, Mr. Van Hollen, Mrs. 
   Feinstein, Mr. Brown, Mr. Merkley, and Mr. Markey) submitted the 
 following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign 
                               Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Reaffirming the United States commitment to the North Atlantic Treaty 
                             Organization.

Whereas the United States, Canada, Belgium, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, 
        Luxemburg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, and the United Kingdom in 
        1949 signed the North Atlantic Treaty, which led to the foundation of 
        the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO);
Whereas NATO was created to deter Soviet expansionism, promote international 
        peace, stability, and security, and prevent the reemergence of 
        nationalist militarism in Europe through a strong North American 
        presence and a closer trans-Atlantic alliance;
Whereas, since the formation of NATO, the alliance has expanded to 29 members, 
        with others still aspiring to join;
Whereas NATO is a vital component of the United States-led post-World War II 
        international order that has made the world safer and more prosperous;
Whereas the aid and security umbrella the United States provided through NATO 
        after World War II helped restore political stability and enabled an 
        economic resurgence in Western Europe;
Whereas, during the Cold War, NATO helped unify the Western alliance and 
        successfully deter Soviet threats;
Whereas NATO conducted its first major crisis response operation in Bosnia and 
        Herzegovina, resulting in the Dayton Peace Accords and facilitating the 
        country's reconstruction in the wake of the 1992-1995 war;
Whereas NATO contributed to the cessation of the 1998-1999 Kosovo conflict 
        through security, stabilization, and humanitarian efforts;
Whereas NATO has served as an essential element of United States national 
        security and a deterrent against external threats for 69 years;
Whereas Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty is an integral part of NATO and 
        states that ``[t]he 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'';
Whereas the first and only time to date NATO invoked Article 5 was less than 24 
        hours after the terrorist attacks against the United States on September 
        11, 2001;
Whereas NATO allies and partners, including NATO aspirant countries Bosnia and 
        Herzegovina, Georgia, Macedonia, and Ukraine, joined in assuring the 
        security of the United States and the international community by serving 
        alongside United States forces in Afghanistan since 2001;
Whereas more than 1,100 NATO ally and partner military personnel in Afghanistan 
        have lost their lives, and thousands have been injured in service to the 
        collective defense guarantee of NATO;
Whereas multiple NATO members participated in the coalition against ISIS by 
        providing either military or humanitarian assistance;
Whereas, in the face of a burgeoning vacuum in global leadership, Russia is 
        aggressively testing Western democracies, including through ongoing 
        malicious cyber war capabilities;
Whereas Russia continues to challenge NATO, including by--

    (1) deploying cruise missiles, violating the Intermediate-Range Nuclear 
Forces treaty;

    (2) executing a suspected poisonous gas attack against Sergei Skripal 
and his daughter Yulia within the borders of the United Kingdom;

    (3) occupying with military forces the sovereign territory of the 
European nations of Ukraine, Georgia, and Moldova;

    (4) waging cyberattacks against the United States and Europe, 
especially the Baltics, in an effort to undermine democracy and defraud 
national elections;

    (5) conducting the largest iteration ever of the Zapad, an annual 
military exercise, in Belarus with an estimated 60,000 to 70,000 troops in 
an excessive show of military force close to NATO borders and in violation 
of the 2011 Vienna Document;

    (6) forcing Latvia, a NATO member, to close down its commercial 
airspace due to ongoing Russian military drills in the Baltic Sea;

    (7) flying two Russian bombers within 30 miles of United Kingdom 
airspace; and

    (8) flying Russian aircraft more than 110 times above or near the 
Baltic Sea in a marked increase since its annexation of Crimea, including 
flying a Russian jet within five feet of a United States reconnaissance 
plane flying in international airspace;

Whereas the Government of Russia has continuously propped up President of Syria 
        Bashar al-Assad and supported atrocities in Syria, including the use of 
        violence and illegal chemical weapons against civilians, resulting in 
        the deaths of more than 400,000 Syrians and the displacement of 
        10,000,000 others during Syria's seven-year civil war;
Whereas the displacement of millions of Syrians has contributed to the worst 
        migrant and refugee crisis since World War II, with many Syrian refugees 
        undertaking perilous journeys to escape war and resettle in territories 
        of NATO allies;
Whereas, during the presidency of Barack Obama, NATO deployed greater resources 
        and personnel to its eastern members in response to and to deter further 
        Russian aggression;
Whereas President Donald J. Trump has caused disquieting fissures in the trans-
        Atlantic alliance, undermining faith in institutions and policies that 
        comprise the post-World War II international order;
Whereas President Trump's wavering and inconsistent statements about NATO have 
        resulted in alliance members questioning the commitment of the United 
        States to the alliance rather than focusing on the multitude of threats 
        NATO faces on both sides of the Atlantic;
Whereas, during the campaign for the United States presidency, then-candidate 
        Trump repeatedly referred to the NATO alliance as ``obsolete'';
Whereas candidate Trump on July 20, 2016, also said if Russia attacked Baltic 
        NATO members, he would only offer support--a key tenet of the NATO 
        charter--after reviewing if those nations had ``fulfilled their 
        obligations to us'';
Whereas, the next day, John Bolton said of the jarring comment, ``I hope that 
        Donald Trump retracts it.'';
Whereas President Trump subverted allied interests and flouted intelligence 
        norms by reportedly revealing highly classified information to Russian 
        Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Ambassador Sergey Kislyak on May 10, 
        2017, in the Oval Office of the White House;
Whereas, during the 2017 NATO summit, President Trump alarmed allies by failing 
        to commit publicly to honoring Article 5 if a United States ally is 
        attacked;
Whereas President Trump's misguided withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement 
        puts the United States at odds with every other country on earth and 
        ignores the climate change-related national security risks highlighted 
        in a 2017 NATO report;
Whereas President Trump imposed unilateral import tariffs on European steel and 
        aluminum, further straining trans-Atlantic trade relations while 
        possibly placing the United States in violation of World Trade 
        Organization rules;
Whereas President Trump has acted antithetically to the NATO alliance by 
        seemingly ignoring and dismissing malign Russian actions against the 
        United States and its allies;
Whereas the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Russia, China, Germany, 
        and Iran finalized the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on 
        July 14, 2015, to end Iran's nuclear weapons program;
Whereas Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Joseph Dunford stated on September 
        26, 2017, that the United States intelligence community assessment was 
        that Iran was in compliance with the agreement;
Whereas Secretary of Defense James Mattis stated, under oath before Congress on 
        October 3, 2017, that the JCPOA is in America's national security 
        interest and the United States should consider remaining party to the 
        agreement;
Whereas the head of United States Central Command, Joseph Votel, stated on March 
        13, 2018, that the JCPOA addresses one of the principal threats we face 
        from Iran and it is in America's best interest to remain a party to the 
        agreement;
Whereas the then-Central Intelligence Agency Director and Secretary of State 
        nominee Mike Pompeo stated on April 12, 2018, that there was no evidence 
        of Iranian noncompliance with the agreement;
Whereas, despite these statements, overwhelming evidence, and the appeals from 
        several NATO allies, President Trump reinstated sanctions on the 
        Government of Iran and unilaterally withdrew the United States from the 
        JCPOA on May 8, 2018;
Whereas the ill-advised withdrawal of the United States from the JCPOA and 
        ensuing threats of related sanctions against its NATO allies immediately 
        sowed further discord in the trans-Atlantic relationship and created an 
        exploitable crack in the armor of the greatest military alliance in the 
        world by eroding the trust of NATO member countries in the United 
        States;
Whereas the leaders of France, Germany, and the United Kingdom issued a joint 
        statement on May 8, 2018, expressing regret about the United States 
        decision, further damaging the alliance and plunging the global order 
        into crisis;
Whereas European Council President Donald Tusk on May 16, 2018, rebuked 
        President Trump for deteriorating relations between the United States 
        and European allies, stating the European Union is no longer under any 
        illusions that the United States is a trustworthy friend;
Whereas hostile nations will seek to exploit the strained relationship between 
        the United States and its NATO allies, specifically bolstering Russia's 
        multifaceted strategy of fraying the relationships between NATO allies 
        for its own benefit; and
Whereas alliance leaders will come together July 11-12, 2018, in Brussels for a 
        summit to further strengthen trans-Atlantic unity and delineate 
        strategies to respond to evolving Russian threats: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) reaffirms the long-standing and steadfast commitment of 
        the United States to the NATO alliance, including Article V of 
        the North Atlantic Treaty;
            (2) recognizes that NATO continues to meet emerging and 
        contemporary threats to the United States and its allies, and 
        serves as a critical deterrent to Russia's destabilizing 
        activities, including through innovation such as the creation 
        of a Cyber Operations Center and collective action such as the 
        Enhanced Forward Presence mission;
            (3) encourages the United States Government to accept the 
        recommendation of our NATO allies to combat jointly Russian 
        cyber warfare;
            (4) honors the men and women who have served under NATO and 
        promoted peace, security, and international cooperation since 
        1949;
            (5) encourages Congress to promote the NATO alliance and 
        trans-Atlantic ties whenever possible;
            (6) urges President Trump to unequivocally and definitively 
        reaffirm the United States commitment to the trans-Atlantic 
        alliance and to counter Russian aggression, especially at the 
        July NATO summit in Brussels; and
            (7) reaffirms the critical importance and security mission 
        of NATO to the United States, its allies, and the trans-
        Atlantic partnership.
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