Secretary of State Marco Rubio raised pointed questions on Thursday about NATO\u2019s strategic utility to the United States, citing Spain\u2019s denial of Washington\u2019s access to its bases during recent military operations against Iran.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you have NATO partners denying you the use of those bases \u2014 when the primary reason why NATO is good for America is now being denied to us by Spain \u2014 then what\u2019s the purpose of the alliance?\u201d Rubio said aboard Air Force One, en route to Beijing.<\/p>\n
Rubio, a longtime Senate NATO supporter, said basing rights were his primary justification for backing the alliance. He singled out Portugal, Poland, Romania, and Bulgaria as cooperative partners, while calling Spain\u2019s posture \u201catrocious.\u201d<\/p>\n
A Two-Tier Alliance?<\/p>\n
\u201cIt starts becoming a \u2018they\u2019re allies when they want to be\u2019 kind of thing,\u201d Rubio said.<\/p>\n
He went further, questioning the fundamental premise of U.S. membership. “What is the purpose of being in an alliance whose benefit to us is these basing rights if, in a time of conflict like the one we’ve had with Iran, they can deny us the use of those bases? Only to protect them but not to further our national interest? This is a very legitimate question that we need to address.”<\/p>\n
Photo courtesy: Shutterstock<\/p>\n
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.<\/p>\n