On July 9-10, a few days after Americans wrap up their Independence Day celebrations, heads of state, diplomats, and dignitaries will fly to hot and humid Washington, D.C., to kick off another celebration—NATO’s 75th anniversary. There will be an air of festivity in the air, akin to one big, happy family trekking over to grandma’s house for her birthday bash. You can expect countless references by the participants about NATO being the oldest and most successful military alliance in world history, how the pact kept Western Europe out of the clutches of Soviet domination, and how, even at a time when the Soviet Union is long gone, it’s still proving its worth.
Yet there is serious business to attend to. The war in Ukraine will be the first, second, and third priority for the two-day summit. This is both good and bad—good because the war has been Europe’s biggest security issue for the last two and a half years; bad in that there is likely to be renewed tension between NATO members and a Ukrainian political leadership who is tired of hearing the same thing about potential membership over and over again.
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