US Should 'Deeply Value' Friendship of It's Allies, Says Former NATO Ambassador

Summary

Nicholas Burns, former US Ambassador to NATO and to China, joined Bloomberg Radio on the 25th anniversary of 9/11 to recall NATO's Article 5 invocation and warn that US strains with allies risk that solidarity. He previewed the September 24-25 Xi Jinping visit to Washington, urging a supply-chain and tariff truce with China, cooperation to limit AI's role in weapons of mass destruction, and moving ahead with a Taiwan arms sale. Burns also described the US-Iran standoff as a prolonged stalemate, said Iran must not control the Strait of Hormuz, and called the State Department understaffed and sidelined.

• Burns recalls NATO allies invoking Article 5 after 9/11 and says the US should deeply value its allies.
• He warns that US strains with Canada and Europe threaten allied trust and democratic unity against Russia and China.
• He previews the September 24-25 Xi-Trump summit, with a supply-chain and tariff truce with China as the top economic goal.
• He says investors should watch whether tariffs and rare-earth and critical-mineral supplies are kept stable after the summit.
• He backs a multibillion-dollar Taiwan arms sale and dismisses reports of Taiwanese capitulation as opposition noise.
• He sees a prolonged US-Iran stalemate and says Iran must not become a toll keeper in the Strait of Hormuz.
• He calls for US, China, Japan and NATO cooperation to keep AI out of controlling weapons of mass destruction.
• He says the State Department is in dire straits and encourages young Americans to become diplomats.