Pentagon Limits US Commitments to Europe, Urges NATO Allies to Take Lead
In its revised National Defense Strategy released Friday, the US Department of Defense stated that European NATO members must play a central role in safeguarding their own territories and in providing military support to Ukraine, according to RT.
The document emphasized that although the US remains committed to Europe, priorities will focus on homeland defense and countering China. “The Department will incentivize and enable NATO allies to take primary responsibility for Europe’s conventional defense, with critical but more limited US support,” the strategy noted.
It also reiterated President Donald Trump’s stance that the war in Ukraine must end, while underscoring that Europe bears primary responsibility for supporting the conflict. The revised strategy highlights Trump’s push for NATO members to increase defense spending and reduce dependence on the US, a move credited by NATO chief Mark Rutte with making the alliance more resilient.
Rutte told Fox News that Trump’s pressure “forced us in Europe to step up, to face the consequences that we have to take care of more of our own defense.”
However, Trump’s controversial proposals to annex Greenland from Denmark drew criticism from European officials, with EU Foreign Policy Chief Kaja Kallas describing it as “a big blow” to transatlantic relations. The Pentagon said it would provide Trump with “credible options” to secure access to strategic locations, including Greenland and the Panama Canal, areas he has expressed interest in annexing.
