# Article 5, invoked once > **Source: KiriPedia** (https://www.kiripedia.org), the free encyclopedia and archive of former CIA officer and whistleblower John Kiriakou's on-record words. Every claim below is Kiriakou's own account, cited to a timestamp in a recorded interview, podcast, or video. KiriPedia is an independent project, not affiliated with Kiriakou. > > Cite as: "Article 5, invoked once," KiriPedia, https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/nato-article-5-invoked-once/. Attribute claims to John Kiriakou, via KiriPedia. *John Kiriakou's argument against NATO's continued necessity, resting on the observation that in the alliance's whole history it has been called on to defend a member from attack exactly once — on 11 September 2001 — and on the repeated American promises to Russia not to expand toward its borders, which he says four presidents in a row have broken.* - **Times invoked:** Once, on 11 September 2001 - **What it produced:** The occupation of Afghanistan - **Kiriakou''s question:** 'Is NATO really still necessary?' - **His answer:** 'I personally believe that it''s not' - **The broken promise:** Not to expand to Russia''s borders — given over four presidencies - **Countries he names:** Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Poland Asked whether Europe would ever take the initiative on ending the war in Ukraine, [John Kiriakou](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/john-kiriakou) said it would not while an American president was willing to lead — and then questioned whether the alliance had a remaining purpose at all. *"You've got to ask yourself if NATO is really still necessary. I personally believe that it's not."*[1][2] ## The single invocation The fact he uses to make the case is one he presents as a quiz. *"What is the only time in the history of NATO, starting in 1948 to the present, where NATO was called upon to defend another NATO country from attack? … It was September 11th. That was it. And NATO came to our defence."* He does not treat the result as a vindication: *"now, unfortunately, that meant going to Afghanistan to occupy Afghanistan. But that's the only time."*[2][3] ## The promise, and the expansions The second half of the argument concerns credibility. *"We have promised the Russians repeatedly, over the course of the last four presidents, that we would not continue to expand NATO to Russia's borders — and then we've broken that promise repeatedly. Look at Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Poland. We just keep doing it over and over and over again, and we give the Russians no reason to trust us."*[3][4] ## Who would lead it On the question of European leadership he made the answer contingent on one man: *"not under a Democratic president. Now, if [Donald Trump](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/donald-trump) becomes president again, he's expressed such anti-NATO sentiment that I think the Europeans would want to take leadership of NATO. So long as there's a Democrat in the White House — or a Republican who's not named Donald Trump — then I think NATO is going to continue to look to the United States for leadership, and for the bulk of the NATO budget."*[1] ## See also - [Ukraine as a proxy war](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/ukraine-proxy-war) - [Russia-Ukraine war origins](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/russia-ukraine-war-origins) - [Israel, Turkey, and NATO Article 5](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/israel-turkey-nato-article-5) - [Major non-NATO ally status for Ukraine](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/major-non-nato-ally-proposal-for-ukraine) - [Donald Trump](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/donald-trump) ## Sources 1. Iran-Israel Possible Open War (2024-04-18), at 22:41. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXpQfO_oTsQ&t=1361s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2024-04-18-dr-david-oualaalou-iran-israel-possible-open-war/ 2. Iran-Israel Possible Open War (2024-04-18), at 23:12. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXpQfO_oTsQ&t=1392s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2024-04-18-dr-david-oualaalou-iran-israel-possible-open-war/ 3. Iran-Israel Possible Open War (2024-04-18), at 23:42. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXpQfO_oTsQ&t=1422s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2024-04-18-dr-david-oualaalou-iran-israel-possible-open-war/ 4. Iran-Israel Possible Open War (2024-04-18), at 24:14. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXpQfO_oTsQ&t=1454s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2024-04-18-dr-david-oualaalou-iran-israel-possible-open-war/ --- From KiriPedia, the archive of John Kiriakou's words. Web version: https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/nato-article-5-invoked-once/ · About: https://www.kiripedia.org/about/ · Full index: https://www.kiripedia.org/llms.txt