NATO’s Secretary General delivered a speech in Iowa last night, calling the alliance practical and necessary to provide security to both Europe and the United States. Mark Rutte was prime minister of the Netherlands for 14 years before he become the head of NATO in October of 2024.
“The United States is mighty, but doing it all alone is not efficient and it’s not necessary,” Rutte said during an event in Des Moines sponsored by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. “You now have 31 allies in NATO and these 31 other democratic countries joined NATO in order to contribute to our collective security.”
Rutte acknowledged some Americans, including President Trump, have questioned the value remaining a part of NATO. “Yes, it is an important question and one that’s pretty easy to answer,” Rutte said. “And when it comes to securing the US homeland, you need a secure Europe, a secure Atlantic (Ocean) and a secure Arctic (Ocean).”
Rutte said some U.S. allies weren’t investing enough to their own defense, but he said things have changed and the leaders of NATO countries have agreed to reach new levels of defense spending that would equal 5% of each country’s Gross Domestic Product. “NATO isn’t just about ideas and ideals, our job is to deliver real security for 1 billion people,” Rutte said, “including 314 million right here in the United States.”
Rutte mentioned the Iowa National Guard’s role in NATO’s security efforts in Kosovo as well as Iowa State University’s role in developing a quick and less expensive way of producing purified uranium during World War II. “I was struck when I saw the motto on your flag…’Our Liberties We Prize and Our Rights We Will Maintain,’” Rutte said. “This is what NATO is all about.”
Matt Whitaker, the Iowa native who is U.S. Ambassador to NATO, joined Rutte on stage in Des Moines after the speech. Whitaker said there’s been a clear-eyed realization by European leaders that they needed to beef up their own defenses. “More capable allies that can equalize with the United States, that can have tanks and friggates and soldiers…air defense, F-35s,” Whitaker said, “…the things you need in the modern world to deter and defend.”
Whitaker said the first shot of a future global conflict won’t be troops across a border, but an attact on critical infrastructure and it’s important for NATO countries to beef up the defense of things like communications systems and a country’s industrial base.
