Yes, the NATO allies must do their part. President Trump is right to demand they do more to provide for their own defense. At the same time, NATO provides a mechanism to prevent the bloodshed and oppression so prevalent in European history.

Syria—with five million refugees, 500,000 dead, the Pandora’s box of chemical warfare reopened, a cesspool of terror groups, and Russians and Americans, Israelis and Iranians shooting at each other—is the very definition of chaos.

After becoming direct victims of ISIS violence in 2014, no significant Christian groups in northern Iraq chose neutrality, and most fought in Christian militias rather than integrating into larger Iraqi or Kurdish forces.

The core problem with the Iran deal is not in its details, but rather in the nature of Iran.

While the work of the State Department’s Office of International Religious Freedom is vital, the ambassador is most effective when he or she influences the department and US policy as a whole. The combination of ambassador-at-large and religion is thus a difficult one at State, so having someone as politically experienced as Brownback in the role is vital.

What does NATO need to do going forward? The short answer: more and less.

Iraqi Christians in the Nineveh Plains require assistance, which can only be achieved by a coalition of states seeking the indigenous population’s best interest. President Trump and numerous European governments have made assisting displaced and persecuted Christians a top priority. These leaders have followed words with actions, but more must be done.

On December 22, 2017, the Dutch government published a letter recognizing that in all likelihood Daesh (ISIS) perpetrates genocide against religious groups in Syria and Iraq.

Discriminatory policies and negligence within the United Nations are aggravating a crisis among Christians in the Middle East.