Trump Approves Montenegro’s Membership in NATO

He Signed Ratification on Tuesday, White House Says

According to White House officials, President Trump today signed the ratification for tiny Montenegro’s accession into the NATO alliance, formalizing America’s approval of them joining the alliance.

This move comes just two weeks after the Senate voted in favor of Montenegro’s membership, in a 97-2 vote. The US is the last nation to grant accession to Montenegro, which has to be unanimous across NATO. The Senate had struggled with the question for over a year, trying to avoid a roll call vote by seeking a unanimous consent measure.

Opponents of Montenegro joining NATO, chiefly Sens. Rand Paul (R – KY) and Mike Lee (R – UT), argued that the tiny nation’s equally tiny army offers no practical benefit to NATO, but its inclusion in the alliance does create a major new potential liability for the US in obliging America to commit militarily to its defense in all future wars.

Montenegro itself is the most divided on the question of joining NATO, with polls showing them split roughly down the middle on the matter. The current government, however, generally supports accession.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.