US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth doubled down on the Trump administration’s combative posture towards NATO on Thursday, announcing a six-month review of US forces in Europe and lambasting Washington’s allies for limiting their involvement in the war in Iran.
“This will be a real review. It will be designed to ensure that NATO is moving fast and irreversibly towards Europe stepping up to take primary responsibility for the defense of Europe,” he said at a meeting of the alliance’s defense ministers in Brussels.
The review will “examine America’s force posture and basing in Europe,” he said, as he sought to characterize it as a way to “transform NATO back into a real military alliance that’s focused on hard power and real deterrence.”
“It’s a review that some countries will fail and others will pass with flying colours,” he said.
His comments come at a critical time for Europe, which has been rattled by statements from Trump administration officials about plans to draw down the amount of US forces and hardware stationed in Europe.
