U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday said the Trump administration was questioning its participation in NATO after some allies didn’t offer assistance through the war with Iran, and didn’t deny reports of U.S. plans to scale back its troop contributions to the alliance.
Rubio was heading to the NATO foreign ministers’ meeting in Sweden when he was asked about a report from Reuters that the U.S. will shrink the pool of military capabilities that it could have available to help the alliance’s European nations in a significant crisis, in response to multiple sources.
“I don’t think anyone’s shocked to know that the US and the president specifically could be very disillusioned at NATO without delay,” Rubio responded, after he said such an announcement can be made by U.S. President Donald Trump or the defence department.
Although Rubio insisted he’s long been a “strong supporter” of NATO and U.S. participation in it, he said the Middle East conflict had raised the query of why NATO is “good for America.”
“I do know why NATO is sweet for Europe, but why is NATO good for America? Since it gives us bases within the region that allow us to project power during a contingency within the Middle East or some place else,” he said.
“So when that’s the important thing rationale for why you’re in NATO, after which you will have countries like Spain denying us using these bases, well then why are you in NATO? That’s a very reasonable query.”
Rubio said he can be raising these issues through the NATO meeting in Sweden, which can also be being attended by Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand.
Global News has asked Anand’s office for comment.
NATO was created within the aftermath of the Second World War to discourage an expansionist Soviet Union and ensure European security and democracy. The U.S., because the world’s largest military and nuclear power, has long played a critical role within the alliance, and leaders dating back to Dwight Eisenhower have stressed the importance of upholding a “lifestyle” that aligns with the U.S.
The one time NATO’s Article 5 commitment to collective defence, which says all allies will come to the help of a member under attack, was invoked after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the U.S. — further underscoring the worth of the alliance. 1000’s of non-U.S. NATO troops, including Canadians, died in the following wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
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Trump has spent years questioning that value and threatening to withdraw from the alliance. Those threats and attacks on NATO have increased within the wake of the Iran war, which was launched unexpectedly or consultations with NATO allies.
The U.S. said earlier this month it could withdraw 5,000 troops from Germany, after Trump lashed out at German Chancellor Friedrich Merz for saying the U.S. was being “humiliated” by the Iranian leadership and criticized what he called a scarcity of U.S. strategy within the war.
The U.S. then cancelled the deployment of 4,000 troops to Poland, a move that blindsided NATO and U.S. lawmakers before the Pentagon and Poland later clarified it could be a brief delay.
Despite Trump hinting at “rather a lot further” troop reductions to return, U.S. Lt. Gen. Alex Grynkewich, the highest NATO military commander in Europe, told reporters in Brussels on Tuesday that he doesn’t expect any more drawdowns of American troops from the continent.
“It should be 5,000 troops coming out of Europe,” Grynkewich said at NATO headquarters in Brussels. “It’s all that I’m expecting within the near term.”
Nevertheless, Reuters reported Wednesday that the Pentagon has decided to significantly scale down its commitment to the NATO Force Model, a framework under which member countries discover a pool of obtainable forces that might be activated during a conflict or another major crisis, comparable to a military attack on a NATO member.
The precise composition of those wartime forces is a closely guarded secret, Reuters said, adding sources couldn’t say by how much the U.S. plans to scale back its commitment.
Chatting with reporters in Brussels on Wednesday, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said he was not allowed to reveal the upcoming U.S. announcement however the move was “to be expected” because the alliance seeks to “end the over-reliance … on one ally” for its defence.
“For this reason European and Canadian allies are increasing their spending, increasing their capabilities, massively investing within the defence industrial base on each side of the Atlantic,” he said.
“So, this was to be expected. I believe it is barely right that it happens … and absolutely inside the realm of the ‘no surprises’ approach.”
Pentagon policy chief Elbridge Colby has said publicly that the US will proceed to make use of its nuclear weapons to guard NATO members, whilst European allies take the lead on conventional forces.
—With files from Reuters and The Associated Press
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