Jens Asbjørn Bøgen
Do you agree?
When talking about threats against NATO, most minds probably go straight to Russia, or specifically Vladimir Putin and the Kremlin.
The war in Ukraine has shown that Putin does not care about international rules and agreements regarding territory, and 2025 was marred by several incidents of drones (allegedly Russian) entering NATO airspace, with several hitting NATO territory without exploding.
In 2023, NATO released a Joint Threat Assessment, suggesting that Russia would be able to wage a large-scale war against the alliance by 2029. As a result, the alliance has scrambled to speed up its defence expenditure. But is Russia and Putin the biggest threat to the alliance?
Not according to NATO’s former deputy supreme allied commander for Europe. He thinks the biggest threat against NATO comes from within.
Putin vs. Trump
General Sir Richard Shirreff, NATO’s former deputy supreme allied commander for Europe, said in an interview with The Independent that Donald Trump now poses a greater danger to the alliance than Vladimir Putin.
The former commander pointed to a series of confrontational US moves, including threats related to Greenland and remarks downplaying European troop deployments in Afghanistan.
“We have to take him literally. We have to assume, with Trump as with Putin, that the worst case will happen,” he said. “Trump is the greater threat [to NATO] if you want to make the comparison. It’s Trump who gets the prize.”
Alliance under strain
Sir Richard told The Independent that the damage extends beyond diplomacy. He said Mr Trump had “destroyed the international order” during the early period of his second term and was undermining the alliance that has underpinned European security for nearly eight decades.
While Russia remains an “existential threat” to Europe, Sir Richard said Moscow’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine ultimately strengthened NATO unity. By contrast, he said US policy had weakened the rules-based system, describing it as “a dead duck”.
He warned that uncertainty in Washington was handing strategic advantages to Moscow, as Europe reassesses its dependence on American security guarantees.
Competing views
The White House rejected the criticism, saying in a statement that “President Trump has done more for NATO than anyone”, citing increased defence spending commitments and US responsibility for Greenland’s security.
Additionally, other analysts dispute the idea that Mr Trump represents the greater danger. Jon B Alterman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies told The Independent that the war in Ukraine had unified NATO, while Mr Trump remained more “open to persuasion” from allies.
Sources: The Independent, Euronews, Joint Threat Assessment 2023 (NATO report)
