Quora Answer: If the US was Hit by a Domestic Terrorist Attack, Would the Rest of NATO Intervene?

The following is my answer to a Quora question: “If, for example, the US was hit by a domestic terrorist attack, would the rest of NATO intervene?”

The US has been a victim of a multitude of domestic terror attacks, and the same with many NATO members.  The Oklahoma bombing by white supremacist, Timothy James McVeigh, was a domestic terror attack.

NATO was formed to defend against external threats.  NATO members do not get involved in domestic problems of member nations.  As such, NATO did not deploy to the UK during the Troubles, or to Spain when they grappled with the separatist ETA.  This would compromise the sovereignty of member nations, and sway the public against their country’s NATO membership.  As such, NATO will not deploy to the US in the event of a terrorist attack.

Also, the average American would be very much against NATO troops being deployed in force.  This would create a political blowback no administration would recover from.  NATO deploying would imply that the US military is either incompetent and need NATO help, or is compromised.  Neither implication is palatable to the average American.