Ankara, Turkey —
As President Donald Trump was raging during a White House meeting this spring that fellow members of the NATO alliance had refused to join his military operation in Iran, he had a thought.
What if he cut American forces in Europe by a third, he asked, according to two people familiar with the conversation. Would that send the so-called allies the right message?
Around the time Trump floated his withdrawal idea, the Pentagon abruptly canceled two US military deployments to Europe and ordered the removal of other personnel from the continent.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth planned to announce at a June NATO meeting even steeper cuts that could add up to the one-third reduction Trump raised, according to two people familiar with the matter. But the plan changed after consultations with other senior administration officials, and Hegseth instead unveiled a six-month review of US forces in Europe.
