NEW YORK, Feb. 20 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump's tirades against Ukraine and the start of peace talks between the U.S. and Russia have come as painful blows to America's closest allies, raising profound questions about whether the NATO alliance can survive, reported The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) on Thursday.
"American and European supporters of the 32-country military bloc say that by siding with Europe's longstanding adversary, Trump has done serious damage to its greatest asset: the deterrence that comes from the alliance's ironclad commitment to collective defense," noted the report.
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization, formed at the Cold War's dawn to face down threats from Moscow, is based on the principle that countries sworn to protect each other -- with nuclear weapons, if necessary -- are stronger together than separately, it stressed.
"The first time one NATO member thinks the others won't defend it, that's the beginning of the end," the report quoted Peter Bator, a former ambassador to NATO of the Slovak Republic, as saying.
"Allied officials have said they also fear the Pentagon will pull a significant number of troops from Europe. Last week, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told European counterparts that the U.S. planned to withdraw some forces from Europe," it added. ■
