As NATO’s Europe members turn to each other, Australia has little choice but to stick with US alliance

Anxiety is growing across the world among America’s longstanding allies about the trajectory of Donald Trump’s presidency, and fears are deepening over the future of security groupings such as NATO and Five Eyes where the United States has played the most important role.

In countries such as Australia, Donald Trump’s “war of choice” in Iran is prompting urgent discussion about self-reliance and debate over whether Washington is still a dependable military partner.

Ahead of his Wednesday evening address from the White House, the President again declared he was “absolutely” considering withdrawing the US from NATO, warning that the matter was “beyond reconsideration” after the refusal of allies to join the Iran war.

In his nationally televised speech, President Trump again lambasted allies for not helping the United States in opening the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial waterway for the supply of oil around the globe.

“Build up some delayed courage. Should have done it before. Should have done it with us, as we asked. Go to the Strait and just take it, protect it, use it for yourselves. Iran has been essentially decimated. The hard part is done, so it should be easy,” he declared.

Ever since his first presidency Trump has been vocally sceptical about the benefit of NATO membership to the US, but since member nations have refused to join the US led strikes on Iran, he has increased his rhetorical attacks on the powerful alliance.

Although the President has so far stopped short of trying to remove the US from the Cold War era grouping it created in 1949, a former US permanent representative at NATO headquarters argues the serious damage to its future has already been done.

“This is by far the worst crisis NATO has ever confronted. Military alliances are, at their core, based on trust: the confidence that if I am attacked, you will come help defend,” Ivo Daalder, who served as US ambassador to NATO during the Obama administration, wrote online.

“It’s hard to see how any European country will now be able and willing to trust the United States to come to its defence,” writes Mr Daalder, who served in Brussels between 2009 and 2013.

Across Europe, many countries trying to support Ukraine have for months been operating as if the NATO alliance was already dissolved, because of Washington’s reluctance to provide more assistance to defeat Russia’s attempted invasion.

On Wednesday Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced the UK will pursue closer economic ties with the European Union following the war in Iran, and amid increasingly strained relations with the US.

Switzerland’s government says it will continue to withhold payments to the ‌United States for a Patriot missile system order until Washington provides binding delivery dates, as a diplomatic spat between the two countries deepens.

Overnight the head of Washington’s non-partisan Foundation for Defence of Democracies, questioned the value of the so-called Five Eyes intelligence sharing network which includes Australia, the US, the UK, New Zealand and Canada.

“Five Eyes was built for another era. We get diminishing value from four partners, and ties with Britain are at a low point,” FDD CEO Mark Dubowitz wrote on the social media platform X.

“Time to rethink the alliance around those actually delivering intelligence value — Israel, Poland, Ukraine, UAE, Japan, ROK (Republic of Korea) and other serious partners,” he added.

Despite the growing concern over the President’s trashing of traditional alliances and conventions, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Thursday again insisted “the US alliance is our most important - that remains the case”.

At his National Press Club address, Mr Albanese evoked his World War II Labor predecessor John Curtin, who turned to America rather than the United Kingdom, “and ever since then, they’re our most important military partner”.

Australia has few immediate options but to stick with its only military alliance, particularly given it is also crucial to this country’s AUKUS plans to acquire a future fleet of nuclear-powered submarines to replace the ageing Collins-class boats.

But the possibility exists the US will lose interest in protecting Australia, irrespective of anything that the Federal Government does