In an op-ed published in The New York Times on August 30th, United States Ambassador to NATO Kay Bailey Hutchison emphasized the United States’ commitment to “America’s most crucial security alliance, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)”.

Ambassador Hutchison, a former U.S. Senator, also stressed the bipartisan commitment to NATO amongst Members of Congress. The Ambassador underscored, “There was no space between the priorities of Republicans and Democrats about our duty to defend our common values of individual liberty, democracy, human rights and the rule of law.”

Ambassador Hutchison’s editorial follows similar comments made during her confirmation hearing before the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee on July 20th, where she called NATO “the most successful defense and security alliance in the history of the world.”

I believe the shared values of democracy, protection of human rights, individual liberty, and rule of law bind all NATO members. This bond that unites us must be reinforced. We are stronger together than any one of our countries would be alone.

–      Ambassador Kay Bailey Hutchison

Since taking office, President Trump has reiterated the importance of the NATO alliance to peace and security. During his joint press conference with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at the White House in April, President Trump referred to NATO as “the bulwark of international peace and security” and reaffirmed the United States’ “commitment to this Alliance and to the enduring values that we very proudly share.”