Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth berated NATO allies as \u201cshameful\u201d for their reluctance to assist in American strikes against Iran, suggesting on Thursday that the Pentagon would reduce the number of troops it keeps in Europe as a result.<\/p>\n
He repeated President Trump\u2019s previous description of the military alliance as a \u201cpaper tiger\u201d and warned that U.S. support to NATO would not be \u201ca one-way street.\u201d Mr. Hegseth\u2019s 12-minute lecture cast a chill over a meeting that had been designed to set a collaborative agenda for a summit of NATO leaders next month.<\/p>\n
He scolded allies whom he described as having failed to step up their defense spending, as the alliance agreed to do<\/a> last summer, under pressure from Mr. Trump. But Mr. Hegseth reserved his harshest remarks for countries that had resisted letting American jets or ships use bases in Europe on their way to attack Iran during the war that the United States and Israel initiated Feb. 28.<\/p>\n \u201cToo many of our allies said no, or tried to drown us in arcane legal debates, or criticized us publicly for doing what they aren\u2019t prepared or able to do themselves,\u201d Mr. Hegseth told the other 31 NATO defense ministers gathered at the alliance\u2019s headquarters in Brussels.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was shameful,\u201d added Mr. Hegseth, who did not name the countries he was criticizing. \u201cThese allies, they put America\u2019s sons and daughters \u2014 our sons and daughters \u2014 at risk by denying them the predictable access basing and overflight that never should have been in question at all.\u201d<\/p>\n Asked about Mr. Hegseth\u2019s remarks, NATO\u2019s secretary general, Mark Rutte, downplayed any acrimony and credited the Trump administration with putting pressure on Canada and European allies to invest $90 billion more last year in defense priorities.<\/p>\n \u201cI am happy he does this because we need to speak the truth to each other,\u201d Mr. Rutte told journalists after the meeting, which he said Mr. Hegseth attended for about two hours before leaving early.<\/p>\n Questioned over Mr. Hegseth\u2019s description of NATO allies as shameful, Mr. Rutte responded: \u201cI\u2019m not going to comment on every word every ally is saying \u2014 I never do that.\u201d<\/p>\n Mr. Trump has long questioned the North Atlantic Treaty Organization\u2019s value, threatening at times to either leave the alliance that the United States helped create after World War II, or saying he would not defend its other members.<\/p>\n At the outset of the war with Iran, European leaders grappled with whether to support U.S.-Israeli attacks that many viewed as potentially illegal. France and Italy refused to allow American bombers to take off from bases in their countries, while Britain offered limited access<\/a> to its bases in Cyprus and allowed only warplanes flying \u201cdefensive\u201d missions<\/a> to land in Britain. Spain blocked U.S. military jets<\/a> involved in the Iran mission from using its airspace.<\/p>\n Mr. Hegseth then announced a six-month review of the U.S. troop presence in Europe \u201cto ensure our forces are postured for America\u2019s global needs.\u201d He said that the review would seek to ensure that American access to bases and airspace was clearly understood, while putting the onus on NATO to ensure that Europe took primary responsibility for its own defense, instead of relying on the United States.<\/p>\n