{"id":338613,"date":"2026-05-22T00:22:37","date_gmt":"2026-05-21T18:52:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/?p=338613"},"modified":"2026-05-22T00:22:37","modified_gmt":"2026-05-21T18:52:37","slug":"rubio-says-u-s-asking-why-its-in-nato-after-allies-didnt-back-iran-war-national","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/2026\/05\/22\/rubio-says-u-s-asking-why-its-in-nato-after-allies-didnt-back-iran-war-national\/","title":{"rendered":"Rubio says U.S. asking why it\u2019s in NATO after allies didn\u2019t back Iran war – National"},"content":{"rendered":"

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U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday said the Trump administration was questioning its participation in NATO after some allies didn\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n

Rubio was heading to the NATO foreign ministers\u2019 meeting in Sweden when he was asked about a report from Reuters<\/a> that the U.S. will shrink the pool of military capabilities that it could \u200chave available to help the alliance\u2019s European nations in a significant crisis, in response to multiple sources.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think anyone\u2019s shocked to know that the US and the president specifically could be very disillusioned at NATO without delay,\u201d Rubio responded, after he said such an announcement can be made by U.S. President Donald Trump or the defence department.<\/p>\n

Although Rubio insisted he\u2019s long been a \u201cstrong supporter\u201d of NATO and U.S. participation in it, he said the Middle East conflict had raised the query of why NATO is \u201cgood for America.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cI 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,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo when that’s the important thing rationale for why you\u2019re in NATO, after which you will have countries like Spain denying us using these bases, well then why are you in NATO? That\u2019s a very reasonable query.\u201d<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Global News has asked Anand\u2019s office for comment.<\/p>\n

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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\u2019s 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 \u201clifestyle<\/a>\u201d that aligns with the U.S.<\/p>\n

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The one time NATO\u2019s 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. \u2014 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.<\/p>\n

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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.<\/p>\n

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 \u201chumiliated\u201d by the Iranian leadership and criticized what he called a scarcity of U.S. strategy within the war.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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