U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told a meeting of fellow NATO defense ministers in Brussels on Thursday that the Pentagon would be launching a review of U.S. forces deployed in Europe as part of a reboot of the alliance -- but that they would be consulted. Photo by Olivier Hoslet/EPA
June 18 (UPI) -- U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Thursday that U.S. forces in NATO-ally countries would be subject to a review by the Pentagon as part of a "NATO 3.0" reboot of the 77-year-old defense pact into a military alliance capable of seeing off any threat.
Speaking after attending a meeting of NATO defense ministers in Brussels, Hegseth said that given "some allies didn't provide the kind of support they should have" during the war with Iran, the United States needed to take another look at arrangements with European allies and how its military assets were apportioned.
"If we're honest in public, honest in private about it, we need to be able to ensure we have access basing and overflight when it matters, in the middle of a contingency," Hegseth told reporters.
"So the review we're undertaking, the NATO 3.0 review, is simply that: Where is the right place for bases, where can we make sure we have access and overflight when we need it so that America is properly postured on the continent and around the world."
