Damaging NATO From Within: Hart’s Misguided Strategic Communications. Accreditation Gerrymandering- Protecting Outcome It Wants. NATO Blames Summit Host Turkiye Who Responds NATO Issues Credentials.
Damaging NATO From Within: Hart’s Misguided Strategic Communications- Wants To Select Broadcasters, Commentators, Directors, Editors, Presenters, Producers, Writers
Communications Gerrymandering- Accrediting Who It Wants For Outcome It Wants
Disservice To Rumsfeld
NATO Blames Summit Host Turkiye Who Responds NATO Issues Credentials
Who Would Anticipate NATO Office Of Strategic Communications Becomes The Story- Embracing Authoritarian And Imperialism
Refusal To Respond To Inquiries
Is NATO Civilian Leadership Working Overtime To Embarrass President Erdogan?
In Democracies And For Taxpayers Who Fund NATO Headquarters Salaries, This Is Not An Appropriate Response: “I cannot discuss the reasons for this decision, which is final.” A Statement More Appropriate For An Authoritarian Regime Rather Than Protector Of Democracy And Freedom Of Expression
Isn’t Discussing The Ethos Of NATO?
Why Is NATO Office of Strategic Communications Embracing Ingloriousness Rather Than Age Of Enlightenment?
NATO Civilian Leadership Succumbing To The Pitfalls Of Performative Piety
Personal Animus Determining Accreditation Decisions?
The NATO Leaders’ Summitis scheduled for 7 July 2026 and 8 July 2026 in Ankara, Turkiye. The heads of state and heads of government will meet at the Beştepe Presidential Compound.
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO): United States, United Kingdom, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Albania, Lithuania, Bulgaria, Montenegro, Croatia, Czech Republic, Poland, Estonia, Romania, Germany, Slovakia, Greece, Slovenia, Hungary, Spain, Turkiye, Latvia, and North Macedonia, Sweden.
The host is Recep Tayyip Erdogan, President of the Republic of Turkiye (2014-2028). Presiding is Mark Rutte, Secretary-General (2024-2028) of the thirty-two-country member NATO.
The NATO Office of Strategic Communications has served-up unnecessary, unproductive, and unprofessional migraines for President Erdogan, Professor Burhanettin Duran, Head of Communications for the Directorate of Communications of the Presidency of the Republic of Turkiye (2025- ), and Hakan Fidan, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkiye (2023- ).
“NATO has long-standing media accreditation procedures for major events. For summits and ministerial meetings held outside NATO Headquarters, NATO relies on the host nation to provide assessments on journalists from their country to ensure access to the meeting site. We are in contact with Turkish authorities on accreditation for the NATO Summit in Ankara. It is very important for NATO that media can attend major events in person.” Allison Hart, NATO Spokesperson and Director of the Office of Strategic Communications (2025- )
The source of migraines is the NATO Office of Strategic Communications. The migraines comprise an increasing number of individuals from countries seeking accreditation sharing this message from NATO: “I regret to say that your request for media accreditation cannot discuss the reasons for this decision, which is final.”
Surprisingly, one NATO mission in Brussels wrote “… [Mission Name] NATO has limited authority to recall NATO’s decision, but we will see what can be done.”
The decision by the NATO Office of Strategic Communication is not based upon lack of real estate, or a lack of workspace. At previous NATO gatherings, in Brussels and in other locations, there is always available workspace, as is true for G7 and G20 gatherings too.
How can individuals from many countries who were accredited by Canada (NATO member), France (NATO member), and Italy (NATO member) to G7 Leaders’ Summits they hosted, not receive accreditation from the NATO Office of Strategic Communications to the NATO Leaders’ Summit? Were those governments mistaken?
By constricting accreditation, particularly from the United States, the NATO Office of Strategic Communications harms the interests of the government of Turkiye.
Donald Trump, President of the United States (2017-2021 and 2025-2029), has numerous reasons to want a robust media presence, particularly for his bilaterals.
President Erdogan wants to publicize the NATO Leaders’s Summit, wants as many eyes as possible to view his diplomatic skills and his bilaterals, particularly with President Trump, wants to promote Turkiye, wants to demonstrate his government’s organizational skills.
Accreditation by NATO is not some form of communications charity or communications tithing by the NATO Office of Strategic Communications.
Vladimir Putin, President of the Russian Federation (2000-2008 and 2012-2030), and his strategic communications team welcome the constrictive behavior and restrictive behavior of the NATO Office of Strategic Communications as it reinforces practices for which they have been criticized.
Secretary General Rutte maintains that country membership to NATO is open to every country. Yet, the gatherings at which he presides are by his Office of Strategic Communications carefully choreographed, stage-managed productions where those deemed acceptable, those deemed part of the “circle” are welcomed.
NATO membership may be “open to everyone,” but NATO summits are “open to those we deem suitable.”
The NATO Office of Strategic Communications uses all forms of communication to deliver its messages, but Secretary General Rutte’s team wants to determine who does the communicating.
NATO leadership is not the proprietor of a private club. Taxpayers finance NATO. Civilian NATO personnel work for the taxpayers of each member country.
The NATO Office of Strategic Communications wants to revise a well-known phrase by Donald Rumsfeld, United States Secretary of Defense (1975-1977 and 2001-2006):
Rumsfeld: “You go to war with the army you have, not the army you might want or wish to have at a later time.”
NATO: “You go to the NATO Leaders’ Summit with the media you want, not with the media you have.”
Decisions and statements by the NATO Office of Strategic Communications suggest not an embrace of Political Piety, but an embrace of Performative Political Piety.
There are examples of NATO members acquiescing to NATO civilian leadership. Asked for a comment about the March 2026 threat delivered by Volodymyr Zelensky, President of Ukraine (2019-2024; term extended due to imposition of martial law in 2022), to Viktor Orban, Prime Minister of Hungary (1998-2022 and 2014-2026), one NATO delegation demurred.
Question: Appreciating the government of Ukraine is not a member of NATO, the government of Hungary is a member of NATO which is the reason writing to your NATO delegation for a comment. 1) Has your NATO delegation requested an apology by President Zelensky to Prime Minister Orban? If so, what was the response by President Zelensky? 2) If your NATO delegation has not requested an apology by President Zelensky to Prime Minister Orban, what would be the reason(s)?
Answer: “Reaction to such statements does not lie in the competence of Polish Delegation to NATO. Best regards, Communication and Public Diplomacy Unit.”
If analysts, anchors, authors, columnists, editors, journalists, podcasters, presenters, producers, pundits, reporters, and writers, are selectively vetted by the NATO Office of Strategic Communications, the premise of message diversity is corrupted.
Resources are available for individuals to visit Turkiye and endeavor to deliver additional voices to write about the NATO Leaders’ Summit. The NATO Office of Strategic Communications should embrace the opportunity rather than recoil from it.
What is happening thus far reflects the NATO Office of Strategic Communications flexing its muscularity towards the government of the Republic of Turkiye- and Ankara not yet responding that as host, it makes the decisions.
President Erdogan and President Trump each thrive from interaction with anchors, authors, columnists, editors, journalists, presenters, pundits, reporters, and writers. The NATO Office of Strategic Communications would be wise to remember their primary audience.
The term of Mr. Rutte as Secretary General of NATO concludes on Sunday, 1 October 2028. Mr. Rutte is aware of the calendar and its impact upon him- President Trump will have a vote before the Tuesday, 7 November 2028, presidential election in the United States to elect his successor.
Secretary General Rutte is focused upon the next 933 days until 12:00 pm on Saturday, 20 January 2029, when the Trump-Vance Administration (2025-2029) concludes.
Analysts, anchors, authors, columnists, editors, journalists, presenters, producers, pundits, reporters, and writers will have an important role too.
