Ex-NATO chief says alliance is ‘strongest’ it’s ever been after DC summit

James Stavridis, former NATO Supreme Allied Commander, said that the alliance is the “strongest” in its history following a recent summit in Washington, D.C., in an interview that aired Sunday. 

“I’d say this is the strongest NATO’s ever been,” Stavridis said to radio host John Catsimatidis on “The Cats Roundtable.” 

“My evidence would be, it’s gone from 12 nations when it was founded, to 32 nations today,” Stavridis added. “Those 32 nations represent half of the world’s gross domestic product, we’ve got 3 million young men and women, almost all volunteers, under arms, we’ve got 800 – you know the admirals say this – 800 major warships at sea, we’ve got 15,000 combat aircraft. Huge, huge capability.”

The NATO summit ended on Thursday, with President Biden stating in a press conference on the final day, “For those who thought NATO’s time had passed, they got a rude awakening when [Russian President] Putin invaded Ukraine.”

“Some of the oldest and deepest fears in Europe roared back to life because, once again, a murderous madman was on the march,” the president continued. 

In his interview with Catsimatidis, Stavridis said the current NATO is “standing up to Vladimir Putin as he tries to conquer a country in Europe, the first time we’ve seen a massive invasion like that since the Second World War.”

“For one, I’m glad that NATO exists and we’re standing up to Putin,” Stavridis continued.