U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced a six-month review of U.S. military forces, bases, and troop deployments in Europe during a meeting of NATO defense ministers at the alliance's headquarters in Brussels on Thursday. Hegseth warned that some countries would fail the assessment while others would pass with flying colors. This review is part of a proposed reboot of the organization to turn it into a NATO 3.0.
During a confrontational speech, Hegseth blasted NATO allies, describing the alliance as a paper tiger and criticizing members for their defense spending. He specifically lambasted allies for what he called a shameful response during the recent war against Iran, noting that European allies refused to provide U.S. forces access to bases in Europe to launch attacks.
The Secretary of Defense stated that Washington's contributions to the alliance budget would be contingent on European military spending as he pressed Europe to take the lead on its own defense. As part of this review of America's military commitment to Europe, the United States is immediately cutting the number of assets it would activate for the continent in a crisis.