The world “would be far less stable” if proposals floated by Donald Trump are implemented as U.S. foreign policy, former Secretary of State James Baker III told a Senate panel on Thursday at the same time the presumptive Republican presidential nominee was meeting party leaders on Capitol Hill.
“We’ve got a lot of problems today, but you’d have a hell of a lot more if that were the case,” Baker said. “These commitments promote U.S. Security. NATO has been the foundation of peace and stability in Europe. The more countries that obtain nuclear weapons the more instability there will be in the world.”
Trump has been critical of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) on the campaign trail, arguing that the alliance no longer serves its founding purpose and that it is too costly to the United States. In March, Trump suggests Japan, South Korea and Saudi Arabia should be allowed to develop nuclear weapons if that means they could defend themselves independently from their adversaries. “Maybe it’s going to have to be time to change, because so many people, you have Pakistan has it, you have China has it. Iran is going to have it within 10 years… At some point we have to say, you know what, we’re better off if Japan protects itself against this maniac in North Korea, we’re better off, frankly, if South Korea is going to start to protect itself,” he explained. Can I be honest with you? It’s going to happen, anyway. It’s only a question of time.”
But according to Baker, abandoning the fight against nuclear proliferation “would not promote stability. That would promote instability.”
The former secretary of state and foreign policy advisor to former presidential candidate Jeb Bush testified before Senate Foreign Relations Committee in a hearing titled “Examining America’s Role in the World.” Former National Security Adviser Thomas Donilon also testified at the hearing.
While Baker did not mention Trump by name, the reference was made to Trump’s proposals after being raised by Senator Marco Rubio, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
