III 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 535 

Reaffirming the United States commitment to the North Atlantic Treaty 

Organization. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 6, 2018 

Mr. DURBIN (for himself, Mr. KAINE, Mr. CARDIN, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Mrs. 

FEINSTEIN, Mr. BROWN, Mr. MERKLEY, and Mr. MARKEY) submitted 

the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign 

Relations 

RESOLUTION 

Reaffirming the United States commitment to the North 

Atlantic Treaty Organization. 

Whereas the United States, Canada, Belgium, Denmark, 

France, Iceland, Italy, Luxemburg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, and the United Kingdom in 1949 signed 

the North Atlantic Treaty, which led to the foundation of 

the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO); 

Whereas NATO was created to deter Soviet expansionism, 

promote international peace, stability, and security, and 

prevent the reemergence of nationalist militarism in Europe through a strong North American presence and a 

closer trans-Atlantic alliance; 


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Whereas, since the formation of NATO, the alliance has expanded to 29 members, with others still aspiring to join; 

Whereas NATO is a vital component of the United Statesled post-World War II international order that has made 

the world safer and more prosperous; 

Whereas the aid and security umbrella the United States provided through NATO after World War II helped restore 

political stability and enabled an economic resurgence in 

Western Europe; 

Whereas, during the Cold War, NATO helped unify the Western alliance and successfully deter Soviet threats; 

Whereas NATO conducted its first major crisis response operation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, resulting in the Dayton Peace Accords and facilitating the country’s reconstruction in the wake of the 1992–1995 war; 

Whereas NATO contributed to the cessation of the 1998– 

1999 Kosovo conflict through security, stabilization, and 

humanitarian efforts; 

Whereas NATO has served as an essential element of United 

States national security and a deterrent against external 

threats for 69 years; 

Whereas Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty is an integral 

part of NATO and states that ‘‘[t]he Parties agree that 

an armed attack against one or more of them in Europe 

or North America shall be considered an attack against 

them all’’; 

Whereas the first and only time to date NATO invoked Article 5 was less than 24 hours after the terrorist attacks 

against the United States on September 11, 2001; 


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Whereas NATO allies and partners, including NATO aspirant countries Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Macedonia, and Ukraine, joined in assuring the security of 

the United States and the international community by 

serving alongside United States forces in Afghanistan 

since 2001; 

Whereas more than 1,100 NATO ally and partner military 

personnel in Afghanistan have lost their lives, and thousands have been injured in service to the collective defense guarantee of NATO; 

Whereas multiple NATO members participated in the coalition against ISIS by providing either military or humanitarian assistance; 

Whereas, in the face of a burgeoning vacuum in global leadership, Russia is aggressively testing Western democracies, including through ongoing malicious cyber war capabilities; 

Whereas Russia continues to challenge NATO, including 

by— 

(1) deploying cruise missiles, violating the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces treaty; 

(2) executing a suspected poisonous gas attack 

against Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia within the 

borders of the United Kingdom; 

(3) occupying with military forces the sovereign territory of the European nations of Ukraine, Georgia, and 

Moldova; 

(4) waging cyberattacks against the United States 

and Europe, especially the Baltics, in an effort to undermine democracy and defraud national elections; 

(5) conducting the largest iteration ever of the 

Zapad, an annual military exercise, in Belarus with an 


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estimated 60,000 to 70,000 troops in an excessive show 

of military force close to NATO borders and in violation 

of the 2011 Vienna Document; 

(6) forcing Latvia, a NATO member, to close down 

its commercial airspace due to ongoing Russian military 

drills in the Baltic Sea; 

(7) flying two Russian bombers within 30 miles of 

United Kingdom airspace; and 

(8) flying Russian aircraft more than 110 times 

above or near the Baltic Sea in a marked increase since 

its annexation of Crimea, including flying a Russian jet 

within five feet of a United States reconnaissance plane 

flying in international airspace; 

Whereas the Government of Russia has continuously propped 

up President of Syria Bashar al-Assad and supported 

atrocities in Syria, including the use of violence and illegal chemical weapons against civilians, resulting in the 

deaths of more than 400,000 Syrians and the displacement of 10,000,000 others during Syria’s seven-year civil 

war; 

Whereas the displacement of millions of Syrians has contributed to the worst migrant and refugee crisis since World 

War II, with many Syrian refugees undertaking perilous 

journeys to escape war and resettle in territories of 

NATO allies; 

Whereas, during the presidency of Barack Obama, NATO deployed greater resources and personnel to its eastern 

members in response to and to deter further Russian aggression; 

Whereas President Donald J. Trump has caused disquieting 

fissures in the trans-Atlantic alliance, undermining faith 


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in institutions and policies that comprise the post-World 

War II international order; 

Whereas President Trump’s wavering and inconsistent statements about NATO have resulted in alliance members 

questioning the commitment of the United States to the 

alliance rather than focusing on the multitude of threats 

NATO faces on both sides of the Atlantic; 

Whereas, during the campaign for the United States presidency, then-candidate Trump repeatedly referred to the 

NATO alliance as ‘‘obsolete’’; 

Whereas candidate Trump on July 20, 2016, also said if 

Russia attacked Baltic NATO members, he would only 

offer support—a key tenet of the NATO charter—after 

reviewing if those nations had ‘‘fulfilled their obligations 

to us’’; 

Whereas, the next day, John Bolton said of the jarring comment, ‘‘I hope that Donald Trump retracts it.’’; 

Whereas President Trump subverted allied interests and 

flouted intelligence norms by reportedly revealing highly 

classified information to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei 

Lavrov and Ambassador Sergey Kislyak on May 10, 

2017, in the Oval Office of the White House; 

Whereas, during the 2017 NATO summit, President Trump 

alarmed allies by failing to commit publicly to honoring 

Article 5 if a United States ally is attacked; 

Whereas President Trump’s misguided withdrawal from the 

Paris Climate Agreement puts the United States at odds 

with every other country on earth and ignores the climate 

change-related national security risks highlighted in a 

2017 NATO report; 


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Whereas President Trump imposed unilateral import tariffs 

on European steel and aluminum, further straining 

trans-Atlantic trade relations while possibly placing the 

United States in violation of World Trade Organization 

rules; 

Whereas President Trump has acted antithetically to the 

NATO alliance by seemingly ignoring and dismissing malign Russian actions against the United States and its allies; 

Whereas the United States, the United Kingdom, France, 

Russia, China, Germany, and Iran finalized the Joint 

Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on July 14, 

2015, to end Iran’s nuclear weapons program; 

Whereas Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Joseph 

Dunford stated on September 26, 2017, that the United 

States intelligence community assessment was that Iran 

was in compliance with the agreement; 

Whereas Secretary of Defense James Mattis stated, under 

oath before Congress on October 3, 2017, that the 

JCPOA is in America’s national security interest and the 

United States should consider remaining party to the 

agreement; 

Whereas the head of United States Central Command, Joseph Votel, stated on March 13, 2018, that the JCPOA 

addresses one of the principal threats we face from Iran 

and it is in America’s best interest to remain a party to 

the agreement; 

Whereas the then-Central Intelligence Agency Director and 

Secretary of State nominee Mike Pompeo stated on April 

12, 2018, that there was no evidence of Iranian noncompliance with the agreement; 


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Whereas, despite these statements, overwhelming evidence, 

and the appeals from several NATO allies, President 

Trump reinstated sanctions on the Government of Iran 

and unilaterally withdrew the United States from the 

JCPOA on May 8, 2018; 

Whereas the ill-advised withdrawal of the United States from 

the JCPOA and ensuing threats of related sanctions 

against its NATO allies immediately sowed further discord in the trans-Atlantic relationship and created an exploitable crack in the armor of the greatest military alliance in the world by eroding the trust of NATO member 

countries in the United States; 

Whereas the leaders of France, Germany, and the United 

Kingdom issued a joint statement on May 8, 2018, expressing regret about the United States decision, further 

damaging the alliance and plunging the global order into 

crisis; 

Whereas European Council President Donald Tusk on May 

16, 2018, rebuked President Trump for deteriorating relations between the United States and European allies, 

stating the European Union is no longer under any illusions that the United States is a trustworthy friend; 

Whereas hostile nations will seek to exploit the strained relationship between the United States and its NATO allies, 

specifically bolstering Russia’s multifaceted strategy of 

fraying the relationships between NATO allies for its own 

benefit; and 

Whereas alliance leaders will come together July 11–12, 

2018, in Brussels for a summit to further strengthen 

trans-Atlantic unity and delineate strategies to respond 

to evolving Russian threats: Now, therefore, be it 


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1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) reaffirms the long-standing and steadfast 

3 commitment of the United States to the NATO alli4 ance, including Article V of the North Atlantic Trea5 ty; 

6 (2) recognizes that NATO continues to meet 

7 emerging and contemporary threats to the United 

8 States and its allies, and serves as a critical deter9 rent to Russia’s destabilizing activities, including 

10 through innovation such as the creation of a Cyber 

11 Operations Center and collective action such as the 

12 Enhanced Forward Presence mission; 

13 (3) encourages the United States Government 

14 to accept the recommendation of our NATO allies to 

15 combat jointly Russian cyber warfare; 

16 (4) honors the men and women who have served 

17 under NATO and promoted peace, security, and 

18 international cooperation since 1949; 

19 (5) encourages Congress to promote the NATO 

20 alliance and trans-Atlantic ties whenever possible; 

21 (6) urges President Trump to unequivocally 

22 and definitively reaffirm the United States commit23 ment to the trans-Atlantic alliance and to counter 

24 Russian aggression, especially at the July NATO 

25 summit in Brussels; and 


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1 (7) reaffirms the critical importance and secu2 rity mission of NATO to the United States, its al3 lies, and the trans-Atlantic partnership. 

Æ 


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