Whitaker, along with U.S. Reps Rick Larsen, D-Washington, and Neal Dunn, R-Florida, participated in a panel discussion Friday at Roger Glass Center during the NATO Parliamentary Assembly.
NATO was formed in 1949 with the signing of the Washington Treaty. The Alliance’s creation was part of a broader effort to serve three purposes: deterring Soviet expansionism, dissuading the revival of nationalist militarism in Europe through a strong North American presence on the continent, and encouraging European political integration.
And Russia remains a threat, said Congressman Larsen.
Larsen said America’s participation in NATO goes beyond “tanks and guns and bullets” — he doesn’t believe the alliance is “sucking money out of U.S. taxpayers.”
“We’re not just defending militaries,” he said. “We’re in the business of defending the value of freedom, the value of democracy. We shouldn’t be thinking about giving that up. But Russia is really pushing against that.”
Whitaker said America will be challenged in the coming years, and it will need friends on its side for whatever comes next.
“And NATO is a great alliance to get together with our friends and our allies and make sure we’re as strong as we can possibly be so we can have peace for generations to come,” he said.