US Vice President Kamala Harris has assured allies in Europe that the United States will continue to fulfill its NATO commitments. The duty of assistance enshrined in Article 5 of the NATO treaty, according to which an armed attack on one member of the alliance is viewed as an attack on all, is “iron” and “sacred” for you and US President Joe Biden, said Harris at the start of the Munich meeting Security conference. She doesn’t even have to say the name Donald Trump in her 20-minute speech, because everyone in the audience knows why Harris says this as a matter of course.
Trump, considered the likely Republican candidate for the 2024 presidential election, said a week ago that under his leadership the US would not defend allies if they failed to fulfill their obligations. “I would even encourage Russia to do whatever the hell they want,” the ex-president said. Harris countered in Munich and said: “NATO is at the center of our approach to global security.”
If Navalny is really dead, Russia would be responsible, she says
The vice president is at the security conference for the third time to represent the Biden administration. There she also talks about the “terrible news” of the death of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny. Harris initially says that people in Washington are working on confirming the report. If confirmed, it would be another sign of Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin’s brutality, she says, making it clear: “Whatever story they tell, let us be clear: Russia is responsible.”
A few hours later in Washington, President Joe Biden blamed Vladimir Putin for Navalny’s death. He initially left the question of how the USA would react to the news open. As early as June 2021, Biden warned after his summit with Putin in Geneva that there would be “serious consequences for Russia” if Navalny died in custody.
However, Harris spends a large part of the speech explaining to the audience at home in the United States why global engagement is in the United States’ “very own interest.” You don’t do this as a “benefactor”, but because it makes the country richer and the people safer. Of course, there are also voices that advocate that the USA should isolate itself and turn away from its allies. “This view of the world is dangerous, destabilizing and short-sighted,” she says. Once again she doesn’t have to mention Trump’s name.
Harris ends her speech with a confession
At her first appearances in Munich, Harris spoke primarily about Ukraine. In 2022, she warned the then still doubtful audience “that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was imminent.” A year ago she condemned Russia’s “widespread and systematic attacks on the civilian population” through murders, torture and rape. Now she is reminding us that Kiev will remain “free and strong” in February 2024 – and is calling on the US Congress to finally release the planned $60 billion in military aid for Ukraine. If this fails, it would be “just a gift for Putin,” says the Democrat – knowing full well that it is the Republicans in the House of Representatives who are blocking the aid package.
Harris ends with another confession: “America cannot retreat, we must fight for democracy and for our allies.” And since the 59-year-old knows that many in Europe are afraid of the Republican returning to the White House given Trump’s good poll numbers, she emphasizes that citizens in the USA know how important the election is for the rest of the world . “The American people will rise to the challenge, and America will continue to lead.”
I guess that means: Don’t worry, you Europeans, Biden and I will win on November 5th.