US Defense Secretary Announces NATO Force Review

United States Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced a six-month review of American military force posture in Europe during a meeting of NATO defense ministers in Brussels on Thursday. The initiative, designated Nato 3.0, aims to transition primary security responsibility to European member states while conditioning future U.S. financial contributions on adherence to defense spending targets.

The policy shift is driven by U.S. concerns regarding perceived free-riding among allies who have failed to meet the agreed-upon target of 5% of GDP for defense and infrastructure. This mechanism will link U.S. dues directly to the urgency and scale of individual member state spending. Consequently, the U.S. has begun scaling back commitments to the NATO Force Model, specifically targeting air and naval capabilities.

The review process is effective immediately, with the U.S. demanding concrete, credible plans from allies to reach the 5% threshold by 2035. While NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte noted that European defense spending increased by approximately 103 billion dollars last year, officials acknowledge that some U.S. withdrawals cannot be immediately replaced. The strategic realignment follows recent diplomatic friction regarding the use of European bases for operations in Iran and ongoing debates over the permanence of U.S. troop deployments in Eastern Europe.