Relations between the USA and the EU are entering a head-on collision course, as the Trump administration opens wide the door of questioning regarding the American military presence in Europe. The American Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, signaled the start of a "six-month crisis" in NATO, announcing a sweeping review of American forces in Europe. Launching new fire against the Allies, Hegseth made it clear that the era when Europe rested on the pockets of American taxpayers has ended irreversibly, even warning that in this new evaluation "certain countries will fail."
The announcements of Hegseth
In more detail, Hegseth escalated the aggressive stance of the USA toward NATO, announcing a six-month review of American forces in Europe and blasting the Allies of Washington for limiting their involvement in the war in Iran.
"This will be a real review. It will be designed to ensure that NATO moves quickly and irreversibly in the direction where Europe will assume primary responsibility for its defense," he stated at a meeting of the alliance's defense ministers in Brussels. According to the announcements, the "disposition of American forces and their bases in Europe" will be placed under the microscope, while Hegseth tried to characterize it as a way to "turn NATO back into a real military alliance focused on hard power and real deterrence."
"It is a review in which certain countries will fail and others will excel," he characteristically stated.
His comments come at a critical moment for Europe, which has been alarmed by statements from officials of the Trump administration regarding plans to reduce the volume of American forces and military hardware stationed in Europe.
On Wednesday, the Secretary General of NATO, Mark Rutte, confirmed that the USA reduced their contribution to the force model of the alliance, the framework through which the organization structures its joint forces and war plans, but tried to downplay the impact of this event. "We examined the division of labor within the framework of conventional forces and we find that the European allies and Canada are ready, willing and able to do more. Based on this, the United States adjusted their commitments to the NATO force model," he stated, insisting that the USA, with their nuclear umbrella, remain "committed" to the alliance.
It is recalled that Donald Trump and other officials of the American government have repeatedly lashed out against NATO, accusing the European allies of Washington of exploiting the military spending of the USA.
In response, the European countries have dramatically increased their own military spending, committing last year to spend 5% of their gross domestic product on defense by 2035, a percentage more than double the previous target of 2%.
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