French Minister of the Armed Forces Florence Parly delivered a stinging assessment of US European policy Monday, decrying the confusion sown by the yawning disconnect between presidential tweets and US actions.
Parly also criticized along the Trump administration’s tying of military sales to alliance requirements.
“IT’S NOT ARTICLE F-35”
Trying to capture the fundamental disconnect, Parly quipped, “It’s called Article 5, not Article F-35,” taking a swipe at the US-led push to get allies to buy American. “What Europeans are worried about is this: Will the US commitment be perennial?” Parly said. She will meet with her American counterpart at the Pentagon on Monday to discuss issues including Syria.
“The alliance should be unconditional, otherwise it is not an alliance. NATO’s solidarity clause is called Article 5, not article F-35,” Parly added, in a reference to the Lockheed-Martin F-35 jet fighter. She did not mention Trump specifically.
NATO treaty’s Article 5 is a provision that means an attack against one ally is considered an attack against all of them.
Trump has been a strong proponent of military products made by US defense companies.