Washington Examiner columnist Guy Benson said that other countries’ “internal politics” are likely at play for withholding help to the United States in Operation Epic Fury.
President Donald Trump scolded North Atlantic Treaty Organization members for not aiding the U.S. in the Iran war on Tuesday, but added “we don’t need them” even though “NATO is making a very foolish mistake.” Benson said what some European countries would argue is that it was Trump’s choice to enter into war with Iran, and “they’re not prepared to help.”
“I think you can’t escape the reality as well … you think about their internal politics in a lot of these countries, especially left-leaning or left-wing governments,” Benson said on Fox News’s Fox & Friends Wednesday.
“They don’t want to be seen by their base as helping Donald Trump on almost anything, let alone something like this,” he said.
Benson also said a lot of these countries have a growing population of Muslims, and that “sectarian politics” are driving decisions not to offend this group of people. He adds that this is “inescapably part of the calculus,” and this isn’t “a great sign moving forward.”
ACTING THE JILTED PARTNER, TRUMP LAYS THE GROUNDWORK TO FINALLY DIVORCE NATO
Benson added he thinks the point Trump is making with NATO is “questioning” the U.S.’s alliance, citing how the U.S. has already done “a lot of the tough work” in Iran. He said Trump is building “pressure” with some of the U.S.’s allies, and that he doesn’t believe the president has “an unfair point.”
French President Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday that his country would not consider helping to secure the Strait of Hormuz from Iranian influence in the “current context.” This comes after Macron suggested last week that French warships deployed in the Middle East could join an international force seeking to help reopen the strait.