Donald Trump ‘to slash forces out there to NATO’ throughout main disaster
Sources claim the United States is planning to reduce its pool of military capabilities that it will make available to European nations in NATO in the event of a crisis
Donald Trump is set to reduce its military support to NATO(Image: Andrew Leyden/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock)
Donald Trump is set to tell NATO allies that the US will reduce its military support in a major crisis, insiders claim.
The United States is to shrink its pool of military capabilities that it will make available to European nations in the alliance, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.
Under a framework known as the NATO Force Model, member states identify a pool of available forces that could be activated during a major crisis such as a military attack on a NATO member. While the precise composition of those forces is a closely guarded secret, sources now suggest the Pentagon has decided to significantly scale down America’s commitment.
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Trump has made clear he expects European countries to take over primary responsibility for the continent’s security from the US. The message to allies this week is a concrete sign of that policy being implemented. The sources said the Pentagon plans to announce its intention to lessen its commitment at a Friday meeting of defence policy chiefs in Brussels.
Pentagon policy chief Elbridge Colby has said the US will continue to use its nuclear weapons to protect NATO members, even as European allies take the lead on conventional forces.
The US will likely be represented by Alex Velez-Green, a key aide to Colby, the sources said. Adjusting the NATO Force Model has emerged as a key priority of Colby’s team heading into the next NATO leaders’ summit, which will take place in Turkey in July, one of the sources added.
The NATO alliance is already under unprecedented strain, with some European countries concerned Washington may withdraw outright. In the past few weeks, the Trump administration has announced plans to cut some 5,000 US troops from Europe, including a decision to cancel a deployment of an Army brigade to Poland – a surprise decision that was slammed by US lawmakers.
One of the sources and another person familiar with the matter said aides on Capitol Hill were aware of and concerned about the Pentagon’s plans to narrow its commitments under the NATO Force Model.
A senior NATO diplomat said, however, they still believed there is an understanding that the US would come to Europe’s aid if it was in trouble.
Trump and his aides have slammed European allies for not spending enough on their militaries and relying on the US for conventional defence, and they point out that the US still has tens of thousands of troops in Europe.
The president’s ambition to take control of Greenland, a Danish overseas territory, has further inflamed transatlantic tensions, as has an ongoing spat between Trump and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who has sharply criticised Trump’s war with Iran.
European allies generally counter that they are rapidly beefing up their military capabilities, but that doing so cannot be done overnight.
