NATO secretary general urges Ukraine funding during trip to MacDill AFB

TAMPA, Fla. - As the NATO secretary general entered a small auditorium on MacDill Air Force Base - which was filled with special operations troops from across the world - he stood at attention.

"You are the best of the best," said Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. "You are key to so many of the things we do as an alliance."

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Stoltenberg - a former prime minister of Norway - is on a trip around the U.S. to push Congress to approve $60 billion to support Ukraine's fight against Vladimir Putin. 

It's being held up by Republicans who want it tied to border security. Stoltenberg has also met with top administration officials and the house speaker.

"If President Putin wins in Ukraine, it's not only a tragedy for the Ukrainians, it also makes the world more dangerous and also more vulnerable," Stoltenberg told the troops gathered at MacDill Air Force Base.

Despite a coming U.S. election that could feature former President Trump and his history of critical comments towards NATO, Stoltenberg argued its 31 members have never been more cohesive or more important to global stability. 

Along with Ukraine, he says NATO, which can tap a reservoir of 500,000 troops, is a key deterrence to China, to the threat of cyber-attacks, and to dictators who might hope to control space.

"As long as we continue to communicate to any potential adversary in a credible way that an attack on one ally will trigger the response from the whole alliance, we are safer and stronger," Stoltenberg said. 

The audience Thursday included special forces from Canada, Italy, Romania and Poland. 

He urged troops at MacDill to defend the ideals of freedom and pointed out that small fractions of each nation's overall budget have been able to keep Vladimir Putin from taking Ukraine.

"NATO is the most successful alliance in history," he said. "We have been able to change. The world is changing. But also because we have been able to stand united despite the differences."

After posing for pictures with troops, he promised to be back in the U.S. this summer to celebrate NATO's 75th anniversary.

Sweden recently agreed to become the 32nd member of NATO.     

As Congress wages its battle over Ukraine funding, the European Union has pledged $50 billion of its own funding to Ukraine.