On June 18th, local time, U.S. Defense Secretary Hagel said that NATO was a paper tiger at the NATO defense ministers' meeting held in Brussels. He also announced that a six-month comprehensive review of troops stationed in Europe and America would be carried out.
According to The Washington Post, Haggis called this review ‘NATO 3.0 Review’. The outcome of the review will depend on the speed at which European countries take responsibility for their own security.
Reports say that the introduction of this review plan has once again caught European allies and Canada off guard. They are trying to adapt to this increasingly unpredictable ally. Previously, U.S. officials and senior military officers had promised to coordinate closely with European parties during the U.S.’s reduction of troops stationed there.
Just a few weeks ago, the Trump administration stated that if a NATO member country were to be attacked in the future, the United States would no longer provide military support on an equal scale. This has caused countries to scramble to acquire equipment to fill the defense gaps.
In recent months, U.S. President Donald Trump and the Pentagon have sent conflicting signals regarding the issue of "reducing or expanding the size of military forces in Europe and America." At the same time, the U.S. has also threatened to annex Greenland, Denmark's autonomous territory, which is a NATO ally.
Hagel told the defense chiefs of the northern countries that NATO has long been a “paper tiger,” and this situation will not continue. He emphasized that this will be a thorough review, aimed at ensuring that NATO moves in a “fast and irreversible” direction towards Europe taking primary responsibility for regional defense. “Some countries will fail the review, but some will submit excellent reports.”
He also criticized some NATO allies for not providing US military with the necessary facilities for base use, deployment, and overflying when the United States has taken actions against Middle Eastern targets recently. He called these practices ‘shameful’. He said that the US will closely monitor which allies will say ‘no’, say ‘maybe’, or hold back at critical moments.
According to AFP, as the NATO summit approaches next month, the United States is increasing pressure to ensure that its allies fulfill their commitments made last year to significantly increase defense spending.
Hagel said that Washington’s future payments for NATO operations will “depend on” whether allies meet their spending targets. The United States will pay approximately $790 million this year. He said, “If other allies do not make urgent expenditures, our share of contributions will also decrease.”
U.S. Defense Secretary Hagel delivers a speech. Video screenshot
This is Hagseth's first appearance at a NATO meeting this year; previously, he skipped relevant meetings in February. On Thursday, he also did not stay long, leaving the meeting before it was even over.
Before returning to the country by plane, Hageath told reporters, 'I'm glad to hear that one country after another has stated that they will meet the standards. However, there are still a few laggards. We will make it clear to them our position during the evaluation process.'
According to reports, the United States has the largest armed force within NATO, and has no intention of withdrawing its nuclear weapons deployed in Europe. These nuclear forces are at the core of NATO’s deterrence system. To emphasize this point, after the meeting on Thursday, the NATO Nuclear Planning Group issued its first statement related to this issue in 19 years.
The statement reads: "The alliance's strategic nuclear forces remain the ultimate guarantee of Allied security and underpin the NATO's extended deterrence framework."
Various defense ministers have reached a consensus and agree to modernize NATO's nuclear capabilities, strengthen nuclear planning capabilities, and make adjustments to achieve its security interests, thereby continuing to enhance NATO's nuclear deterrence mission.
NATO Secretary-General Rütt said that the US reduction of military forces does not have a significant impact. He stated, "Once war breaks out, all member states will deploy all their combat forces. It is important to understand what we can rely on and what resources are available in theory during the planning stage."
According to CNN, Hagee's remarks reflect the growing tensions between the United States and this transatlantic military alliance.
Under pressure from the Trump administration, which demanded that European countries take on more regional security responsibilities, NATO member states promised to increase their defense budget expenditures last year.
In May this year, Haggith stated that the United States requires all allies and partner countries to have defense expenditures that are at least 3.5% of their GDP. He also mentioned that Washington would give priority to military cooperation with such “model allies”.
In that same month, he praised the actions of countries such as the Philippines, Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore in taking proactive responsibility for defense alliances and sharing security burdens. At the same time, he continued to criticize European allies.
Trump has always been critical of NATO. He threatened that if NATO allies were unwilling to help the US navigate the Strait of Hormuz, the United States might withdraw from this military alliance.
In terms of absolute military expenditure, the United States still leads the way among NATO countries in defense spending. According to official NATO data, the U.S. spent approximately $845 billion on defense last year, which is significantly higher than the total military expenditures of all other NATO member countries combined ($559 billion).
