USA warns NATO partners: troop presence is being put to the test

Alliance defense

USA warns NATO partners: troop presence is being put to the test

Almost three weeks before the NATO summit, the USA is threatening allies who do not significantly increase their defense spending. Now the US presence in Europe as a whole is coming under scrutiny.

The USA accuse NATO partners of continued negligence and are putting the US troop presence in Europe to the test. The US Secretary of Defense announced that there would be an investigation into the troop presence and stationing of American armed forces Pete Hegseth at an alliance meeting in Brussels to. It will be completed in six months – or perhaps sooner.

Hegseth criticized: “Some of the largest economies in the NATOsome of our richest countries, allies most comfortable talking about the rules-based international order and the cohesion of middle powers, still seem to believe that the era of free riding continues.”

Even if some states have significantly increased their military spending, there are setbacks in strengthening NATO. Hegseth announced that the USA wanted to make its annual NATO contributions dependent on whether other countries meet their defense spending targets. “Where allies do not invest with the necessary urgency, our contributions will decline,” he said.

Hegseth also criticized the fact that the USA was at war against the Iran was not sufficiently supported and described the behavior of allies as “shameful”. He did not name any allies directly, but criticism has previously been leveled against states such as Spain and Great Britain been put forward.

The US minister named the goal as “a balanced alliance in which Europe takes the lead in its own defense: NATO 3.0.” For far too long, NATO has been “a paper tiger and a one-way street.”

The Allies had US President Donald Trump At the summit last year, we pledged to invest five percent of gross domestic product in defense and security every year from 2035 at the latest. Previously the target was two percent. At the summit this year in Ankara progress should be assessed. It starts in just under three weeks.

Shortly before the defense ministers’ meeting this Thursday, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte confirmed that the USA will have fewer military capabilities for deterrence and defense on standby under NATO command in the future. This is about commitments for the NATO Force Model mentioned. This determines in the alliance which member states have how many forces and capabilities available and how quickly they must be available.

According to Rutte, the US military’s plans to cancel the NATO Force Model in Europe will come into force immediately. “But if there were a war, we will all max out to ensure that we can fight the war,” said Rutte. When asked, he tried several times to dispel any possible concerns. The European NATO allies have already closed some gaps completely and others almost completely, he said.