Rand Paul fights to preserve the Constitution’s prominence over NATO authority
Christopher Tremoglie
Last week, the Senate rejected an amendment from Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) to add to the National Defense Authorization Act that would have reinforced that Article 5 of the NATO treaty does not take precedence over Congress on the issue of declaring war.
It was the latest effort by the Republican senator to ensure NATO isn’t the de facto authority for the United States declaring war. That power belongs to the federal government, not a multilateralist alliance of mostly European countries.
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Article 5 states that if any member of NATO is attacked, then it is considered an attack on all members, and each country will “take the actions it deems necessary to assist the Ally attacked.”
Paul’s amendment came on the heels of intensified discussions surrounding admitting Ukraine into the alliance. Given the repeated enthusiasm to support Ukraine by Democrats and some long-serving Republican politicians, Paul’s attempt to ensure that Congress, not NATO, decides when the country goes to war, was a logical and sensible request.
“Today I offered an amendment to the NDAA that would have clarified that Article 5 of the NATO treaty does not supersede the constitution,” Paul tweeted last week.
“It should have been an easy vote to affirm the Constitution, to vote against affirming the Constitution actually places doubt in the Constitution. But it was defeated 83-16,” Paul said in a separate tweet.
But Paul’s efforts to add an amendment to the NDAA should not be easily dismissed. Democrats have embraced a globalist agenda in recent years that directly threatens the autonomy of the United States.
Multilateralism has become an integral component of contemporary foreign policy in the 21st century. Starting with the Obama administration, of which the current president was a member, Democrats have embraced the Obama doctrine, a foreign policy strategy of “leading from behind.”
Adam Brandon, president of FreedomWorks, reinforced Paul’s viewpoints and concerns. Furthermore, Brandon emphasized the significance of the Constitution’s authority in dictating our nation’s policy during hostile geopolitical matters and that nothing can usurp its authority in times of war — despite the not-so-secret desires of the multilateral enthusiasts present in NATO.
“The Constitution is very clear: only Congress has the power to declare war. The U.S. must not cede our Constitutional Republic to authoritarian rule, and this NATO War Powers Resolution introduced by Senator Paul would have reaffirmed this commitment to the American people. It is sad to see that Congress is content with neglecting their lawmaking directive,” Brandon said.
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Most people would assume we wouldn’t need any particular amendments to ensure Congress follows the Constitution regarding declaring war, not Article 5 of the NATO Treaty. But that isn’t the world we live in today.
A deterioration in trust between government politicians and questionable allegiances to multilateralist policies warrant this need for skepticism. Paul’s valiant efforts were a subtle nudge to our country’s legislators to remind them that we are the United States of America, not the United States of NATO.