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Afghanistan Is a Wake-Up Call for ‘Major Non-NATO Allies’
From Afghanistan to Hungary, there is confusion about what alliance means and what steps the United States is prepared to take on behalf of those it considers allies.
These matters need resolution because the United States cannot allow any doubt about what commitments it is prepared to enforce, especially with great power competitors more prepared to test any ambiguity in…
- Nikolas K. Gvosdev
- The National Interest
A point that I have tried to make in these pages for the last two decades is the importance of clarity in language, particularly when it comes to commitments.
Back in 2003, I worried that the careless bandying-about of terms like partner or ally “increasingly muddle policy…