Keith Kellogg suggests replacing NATO, calls alliance ‘cowards’
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Retired Lieutenant General Keith Kellogg said NATO may need to be replaced, arguing that the organization had shown itself to be “cowardly” and ineffective during the conflict with Iran.
Appearing on “Hannity” on Wednesday, Kellogg condemned NATO allies for their failure to resolve the conflict in Iran. He suggested that the United States could benefit from different defense partners.
“It’s NATO’s turn”[ing] [out] being a coward,” Kellogg said.
“Maybe we need a new NATO, a new defense organization.”
Lieutenant General Keith Kellogg (Ret.), then US Special Envoy to Ukraine, speaks at the National Prayer Breakfast on August 25, 2025 in Kiev, Ukraine. (Yan Dobronosov/Global Images Ukraine)
As a way out, he pointed to Article 13 of the North Atlantic Treaty, which states that any party can leave NATO one year after giving notice of termination.
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Kellogg later proposed alternative alliance structures.
“Let’s redraw the defense alliances we have; perhaps we could form one with Japan, Australia, and some European countries willing to join the war (like the new, re-engaged Germany or Poland). Even Ukraine, which has proven to be a good ally.”
The NATO emblem is seen at the NATO Summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, on July 12, 2023. (Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Former Deputy National Security Advisor Victoria Coates echoed Kellogg’s concerns about the organization, saying NATO had proven “insignificant.”
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“They can’t deal with the biggest war since World War II in Europe. They couldn’t deal with it on their own continent. So I don’t think we really need them in the Middle East. It would be nice to have their support. But what President Trump has shown is what the United States can do with a truly motivated ally like Israel,” he said.
Coates said that the destruction caused by the Iranian army is a strong deterrent for Russia and China.
Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who previously served on NATO operations, described the state of the alliance as deplorable.
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“I’ve been a believer for decades that NATO is a very important group of allies,” Pompeo said.
“But watching them be so incompetent, failing to convince their own people, their own domestic audiences, that this is important, explaining to them why they are safer as a result of what the United States and our friends in Israel have done, and then helping us with that mission set… I think it’s going to take a fundamental rethinking of how the United States makes sure we understand exactly who our allies are and what we can count on them for.”
