2022-3-10 Will U.S. Go to War if Putin Invades or Attacks a NATO Ally?

            The liberty principle for this Freedom Friday concerns Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. Many questions arise because Putin invasion of Ukraine along with his threats to use nuclear weapons. Poland and other nations in the area are members of NATO, so one question is, what happens if Putin attacks or invades a NATO nation and NATO invokes Article 5 of the treaty.

Cully Stimson wrote that the situation is complicated and then proceeded to explain that his article was strictly about the legal obligations for the United States, even while admitting that Putin’s invasion of Ukraine “has been unlawful, despicable, and totally unwarranted.” Stimson stated that the situation is complicated and that his article is not meant to be comprehensive. 

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was “created in 1949 by the United States, Canada, and several Western European nations to provide collective security against the then-Soviet Union…. There are currently 30 NATO countries, including the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, and others.

Stimson reminded his readers that Congress holds the power to declare war (Article I, Section 8, Clause 11 of the Constitution). There are two main questions that must be answered before Congress will commit U.S. armed forces to war. (1) Is it in the national security interests of the United States to do so? (2) Do the actions of the party (in this case, Russia) amount to an “armed attack” as defined by Article 51 of the U.N. charter?

Another question that is being asked is, “Does an attack on a NATO ally require – as a matter of international law – the United States to respond with force?” Stimson answered, “No. We would never agree to that.” One expert on law of war recently told Stimson that “from a policy perspective, it has been important to convey the impression that we would respond to an armed attack on a NATO ally with military force.” Impressions are one thing, but what does the law say?

According to Stimson, “Article 5 permits the United States to respond in a way that satisfies its legal obligations short of sending in the armed forces of the United States to fight, such as providing military equipment or other aid.” The decision about using U.S. forces would depend on the answers to the two main questions listed above. So, what does Article 5 say?

The 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 and consequently they agree that, if such an armed attack occurs, each of them, in exercise of the right of individual or collective self-defense recognized by Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations, 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. Any such armed attack and all measures taken as a result thereof shall immediately be reported to the Security Council. Such measures shall be terminated when the Security Council has taken the measures necessary to restore and maintain international peace and security.

Article 5 has been referred to regularly in recent days. However, there is another important section of the Treaty that deserves to be cited – Article 11. “This Treaty shall be ratified and its provisions carried out by the Parties in accordance with their respective constitutional processes….” The United States insisted that this article be a part of the Treaty. This statement recognizes that the U.S. Constitution gives the power to declare war to Congress.

So, the short answer is that the NATO treaty obligates the United States to do something to help other members of NATO. However, the authority to order U.S. Armed Forced into war rests solely with Congress.