WAR with Russia could be just round the corner if Donald Trump abandons NATO, military chiefs have warned.
Three ex-British generals and an admiral said that UK together with Europe should lead the warning of a possible Russian invasion after the US-president elect cast doubt on NATO’s mutual defence pact.
It comes after British military intelligence issued a chilling warning over Russia’s new Armata “super tank” – which is far superior than any other.
Sir Michael Graydon, the former chief of the RAF, said: “If the US leaves Nato, it would be absolutely disastrous and just what Vladimir Putin would like.
“If a situation occurs in the Baltic where we need to take a firm stance, the credibility of this would be lacking without the US. From a security point of view, this may be the wake-up call Europe needs.”
He added: “We can expect Trump to be quite serious on this one, he will not forget it.
“If European nations do not raise their game, then there are real concerns over the future of NATO.”
Former head of the army, General Lord Dannatt said: “We’ve seen Donald Trump threaten all sorts of things, we should take that threat seriously.
“From a UK point of view, we have to think about increasing our own defence expenditure. If the US walks away, Nato ceases to exist, almost by definition, so we would have to invent something else.”
General Richard Shirreff, former NATO’s deputy supreme allied commander for Europe, said: “We have to hope the rhetoric we heard during the campaign is rapidly replaced by a very sober and serious statement that if there is any question of a Nato member being attacked then Trump will without any hesitation or equivocation come to the defence of the country.
“Anything less would be really bad news for Nato.”
Former head of the Army, General Lord Dannatt said: "We’ve seen Donald Trump threaten all sorts of things, we should take that threat seriously.
"From a UK point of view we have to think about increasing our own defence expenditure.
"We should actually realise that Trump means it and states have to do more about their own role in Nato.
"If the US walks away, Nato ceases to exist, almost by definition, so we would have to invent something else. In the context of Brexit that is ridiculous."
Earlier this year, during his campaign to become president that the US, Trump threatened to withdraw military aid from a NATO ally under attack.
The billionaire businessman said he would first consider how much they had financially contributed to the alliance before pitching America’s military might in.
Earlier this year, Trump promised to press his nationalistic “America First” agenda and told the New York Times: “We are going to take care of this country first,” he said, “before we worry about everyone else in the world.”
Julian Lewis, chair of the Commons Defence Select Committee, said Trump could leave Europe in a "catastrophically weakened position".
He added: “If Trump means to carry out his threat turn his back on Nato that would be potentially catastrophic for security and the West. It does not bear thinking about.’ Nato has been the cornerstone of Western security since 1949.
“Its central purpose is set out in Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty, which says an armed attack against one Nato member ‘shall be considered an attack against them all.”
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