BRUSSELS (AP) 鈥� U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth lashed out at NATO allies on Thursday as he announced a six-month Pentagon review of American forces in Europe whose outcome will depend on how fast the Europeans for their own security.
The review was yet another surprise for European allies and Canada as they learn to deal with an increasingly unpredictable ally. U.S. officials and senior military officers had promised to coordinate closely with the Europeans as America draws down.
In recent months, U.S. President Donald Trump and the Pentagon have sent about whether America is reducing or increasing its military footprint in Europe, as well as , a semiautonomous island that is part of ally Denmark. Just weeks ago, the Trump administration said that it would no longer provide as much military support should any NATO member come under attack.
鈥淭his will be a real review. It will be designed to ensure that NATO is moving fast and irreversibly toward Europe leading, stepping up to take primary responsibility for the defense of Europe,鈥� Hegseth told his NATO counterparts. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a review that some countries will fail and others will pass with flying colors.鈥�
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz later said the allies have long been aware of U.S. plans to pull troops from Europe at some point and that they must take care of their own security.
鈥淲e know that we must do more and we are doing it,鈥� Merz said.
Public dressing down over bases, gender and migration
In a fiery speech at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Hegseth lambasted European allies for failing to provide U.S. forces access to to launch attacks on Iran, calling it 鈥渟hameful.鈥�
鈥淭hese allies, they put America鈥檚 sons and daughters, our sons and daughters, at risk by denying them the predictable access, basing and overflight that never should have been in question at all,鈥� he said. The review would also assess whether the U.S. has full access and overflight 鈥渨hen we need it.鈥�
While defense ministers and military officers sat in silence, Hegseth railed against migration and gender equality policies in Europe, in remarks reminiscent to those of in February last year that angered many Europeans.
鈥淚nstead of tanks and fighters and air defenses, the focus has been on gender equity and climate change and defense austerity. Europe鈥檚 borders flew wide open, welfare states expanded, defense budgets cratered, along with Europe鈥檚 belief in itself and its civilization,鈥� Hegseth said.
Hegseth’s comments largely mischaracterized European policies today. On defense, European allies and Canada have launched an unprecedented effort to boost defense spending and expand their armed forces. NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte noted on Thursday that they spent $90 billion more on defense last year, a 20% increase over 2024. And while Europe accepted large numbers of migrants and asylum seekers more than a decade ago, most countries have tightened their borders since.
It does not augur well for a summit of NATO leaders in Turkey on July 7-8.
A rare and short visit to NATO
It was a rare visit to NATO by Hegseth, his first this year after skipping a meeting in February. The Pentagon chief did not stay long, leaving well before the gathering was over and hours before Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was due to for his country.
Speaking to reporters at Brussels airport before flying home, Hegseth said, 鈥淚t was great to hear country after country say, 鈥榃e鈥檙e going to meet our target. We鈥檙e going to meet our target.鈥� There are still a few outliers, and we will be clear with them as we do this review.鈥�
NATO鈥檚 supreme allied commander, an American, is working on to defend Europe after the U.S. signaled on June 3 that it would no longer supply an aircraft carrier and support ships, aerial refueling planes and dozens of fighter jets, among other military assets, in a crisis.
The Trump administration insists that it needs to be able to plan for two simultaneous conflicts and wants more military resources at hand should it clash with China in the Indo-Pacific region.
Under NATO鈥檚 collective security guarantee 鈥� of its founding treaty 鈥� the 32 allies pledge that an attack on one of them will be considered an attack on all. It does not oblige them to provide military support, although many likely would.
In essence, the United States is scaling back how it might help should an ally trigger Article 5.
US nuclear weapons will stay
The U.S. has by far NATO鈥檚 biggest armed forces. It does not intend to withdraw its nuclear weapons in Europe, which are key to NATO鈥檚 deterrence. To underscore that point, NATO鈥檚 Nuclear Planning Group issued its first statement in 19 years after Thursday鈥檚 meeting.
In the statement, it 鈥渞ecalled that the strategic nuclear forces of the Alliance remain the supreme guarantee of Allied security and underpin NATO鈥檚 extended deterrence architecture.鈥�
The ministers 鈥渁greed to continue enhancing NATO鈥檚 nuclear deterrence mission by modernizing NATO鈥檚 nuclear capabilities, strengthening its nuclear planning capacity, and adapting to achieve its security interests.鈥�
Rutte played down the impact of the U.S. decision, saying that the NATO Force Model 鈥� the system for organizing what forces member countries will provide commanders in times of peace, crisis or conflict 鈥� is just 鈥渁 planning tool,鈥� and not a reflection of what would actually happen.
鈥淚f war breaks out, we will all max out what we need to do to make sure we can fight the war,鈥� Rutte told reporters. 鈥淚n the planning phase, it is important to know what we can count on. What is in theory there.鈥�
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Geir Moulson in Berlin contributed.
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