Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth on Thursday sharply criticised NATO allies and announced a six-month Pentagon review of American forces in Europe, saying the outcome would depend on how quickly European countries take primary responsibility for their own security. Speaking at a NATO meeting in Brussels, he said the review would ensure the alliance was moving “fast and irreversibly toward Europe leading, stepping up to take primary responsibility for the defence of Europe.”
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Hegseth also accused some European allies of denying US forces access to bases in Europe to launch attacks on Iran, calling it “shameful”. He used the opening of the meeting to attack European policies on migration and gender equality as well, and said the Trump administration wanted to remake the 32-member alliance into a “NATO 3.0” that could deter any threat.
On access to bases, Hegseth said, “These allies, they put America’s 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.” He also said, “Instead of tanks and fighters and air defences, the focus has been on gender equity and climate change and defence austerity. Europe’s borders flew wide open, welfare states expanded, and defence budgets cratered. Along with Europe’s belief in itself and its civilisation.” His remarks echoed comments made by US Vice President JD Vance in February last year that had angered many Europeans.
Hegseth’s comments came even as European allies and Canada have been raising defence spending and expanding their armed forces. NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said they spent USD 90 billion more on defence last year, a 20 per cent increase over 2024. He also spoke after years in which Europe had accepted large numbers of migrants and asylum seekers more than a decade ago, while most countries have since tightened their borders.
The remarks also came weeks after the United States told allies it would no longer provide certain warships and aircraft if one of them came under attack. NATO’s supreme allied commander, who is American, is working on backup plans to defend Europe after the US signalled on June 3 that it would no longer supply an aircraft carrier and support ships, aerial refuelling aircraft and dozens of fighter jets, among other military assets, in a crisis. The Trump administration says it wants the ability to plan for two conflicts at the same time and needs more military resources available in case of a conflict with China in the Indo-Pacific.
Under Article 5, NATO’s collective security pledge, an attack on one ally is treated as an attack on all 32 members, though the treaty does not require them to provide military support. In effect, the US is scaling back the way it might help if an ally invokes Article 5, even though it remains the alliance’s biggest military power. It does not plan to withdraw its nuclear weapons from Europe, which remain central to NATO’s deterrence.
To underline that point, NATO’s Nuclear Planning Group issued its first statement in 19 years after meeting on Thursday. It said it “recalled that the strategic nuclear forces of the Alliance remain the supreme guarantee of Allied security and underpin NATO’s extended deterrence architecture.” The ministers also “agreed to continue enhancing NATO’s nuclear deterrence mission by modernising NATO’s nuclear capabilities, strengthening its nuclear planning capacity, and adapting to achieve its security interests.” Overall, Hegseth used the Brussels meeting to press Europe to take a bigger role in its own defence as Washington reviews its military presence and support commitments on the continent.
With PTI Inputs
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SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
