U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hagerty announced on Thursday that the Pentagon will initiate a comprehensive six-month review of U.S. force deployments in Europe.
He stated that "some nations will not pass this review, while others will pass with flying colors."
Hagerty made these remarks while attending a NATO defense ministers' meeting in Brussels.
He indicated that the review aims to push NATO to swiftly and irreversibly take on the primary responsibility for Europe's territorial defense.
He also directly criticized European allies for their refusal to grant U.S. forces access to military bases for launching strikes against Iran, calling the situation shameful.
These comments highlight the growing tensions between the United States and its transatlantic military alliance partners.
Following pressure from the Trump administration for European nations to shoulder more regional security responsibilities, NATO members last year pledged to increase defense spending.
In May of this year, Hagerty explicitly stated that the U.S. expects all allies and partners to allocate a minimum of 3.5% of their GDP to defense, adding that Washington would prioritize defense cooperation with such "model allies."
Last month, he praised countries like the Philippines, Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore for proactively taking on alliance defense responsibilities and sharing security burdens, while continuing his criticism of European allies.
Former President Trump has repeatedly expressed dissatisfaction with NATO, even threatening that the U.S. might withdraw from the alliance if allies were unwilling to assist in securing the Strait of Hormuz for shipping.
In absolute terms, the United States remains the dominant contributor to defense spending within NATO. Official NATO data shows that U.S. defense expenditure last year was approximately $845 billion, while the combined military spending of all other NATO members was only $559 billion, significantly lower than the U.S. amount.
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