US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth doubled down on the Trump administration’s combative posture in the direction of NATO on Thursday, saying a six-month review of US forces in Europe and lambasting Washington’s allies for limiting their involvement in the conflict in Iran.
“This will be a real review. It will be designed to ensure that NATO is moving fast and irreversibly towards Europe stepping up to take primary responsibility for the defense of Europe,” he mentioned at a gathering of the alliance’s protection ministers in Brussels.
The review will “examine America’s force posture and basing in Europe,” he mentioned, as he sought to characterize it as a solution to “transform NATO back into a real military alliance that’s focused on hard power and real deterrence.”
“It’s a review that some countries will fail and others will pass with flying colours,” he mentioned.
His feedback come at a vital time for Europe, which has been rattled by statements from Trump administration officers about plans to attract down the quantity of US forces and {hardware} stationed in Europe.
On Wednesday, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte confirmed the US had diminished its contributions to the alliance’s drive mannequin – the framework by which the group organizes its joint forces and conflict plans – however sought to downplay that affect.
“We have looked at the division of labor in the context of conventional forces and we see that European allies and Canada are ready, willing and able to do more. Based on this, the United States has adjusted its pledges to the NATO force model,” he mentioned, insisting that the US, with its nuclear umbrella, remained “committed” to the alliance.
Hegseth, President Donald Trump and different US administration officers have regularly railed in opposition to NATO, accusing Washington’s European allies of freeloading off US navy spending.
In response, European nations have dramatically elevated their very own navy spending, pledging final 12 months to spend 5% of their gross home product on protection by 2035, greater than double the earlier 2% goal.