NATO NATO

[Saithan]

US President Trump's frequent threats to leave NATO, as well as the US army's heavy use of expensive, military assets in Iran has weakened the alliance, former US ambassador to NATO tells Euronews.​

Former US ambassador to NATO, Ivo Daalder, said repeated threats by U.S. President Donald Trump to withdraw from NATO, as well as confrontations with America's European allies over their refusal to join the war, have created the ‘worst crisis’ NATO has ever faced.
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“The last six weeks have been extraordinarily damaging to NATO,” Daalder told Euronews' Shona Murray.

“We see a divided NATO, which has been the goal of first the Soviet Union and then Russia for the better part of 80 years,” he said.

Daalder said Trump’s statements suggesting the U.S. might not defend NATO allies against future military aggression by Russia or other adversaries have destabilised the alliance and shaken the global order.


He added that the six‑week war against Iran has depleted U.S. military resources by burning through large stocks of interceptors and other missiles in the bombing campaign.

“A NATO that is truly at loggerheads, a NATO in which the president of the United States says, ‘I'm not going to defend you’, it is a good time to test NATO if you are sitting in Moscow,” he said.

“It’s also a good time to test what you could get away with in Taiwan if you're sitting in Beijing, because much of the US military capability has been moved to the Gulf,” he warned.

Daalder, who served as U.S. ambassador under former President Obama from 2009 - 2013 said described the US/Iran war as a “strategic blunder of historic proportion.”

“Much of US military capabilities has been expended on this war, which turned out to be a strategic blunder of historic proportion,” he said.

His comments come as NATO Secretary General, Mark Rutte is in Washington D.C. for a series of discussions including with Trump, and Secretary of State Rubio, as well as Defence Secretary, Pete Hegseth. Rutte is expected to try to salve some of the hostility which has emerged between the US and its allies in Europe.

Meanwhile, Daadler’s believes that - on the face of it - Iran holds the “upper hand” in relation to the terms of the ceasefire negotiated on Tuesday to avert all out ‘civilisational destruction.’

An agreement was made to reopen international shipping routes through the Strait of Hormuz, reportedly however, permission will be required from the Iranian armed forces for vessels attempting to pass.

Iran has held the Strait hostage as part of its retaliation against the US and Israel. It's effective closure has triggered skyrocketing gas and oil prices as well as major economic uncertainty across the globe.

The full details of how the Strait will be secured for all international shipping including the passage of Gulf oil and gas is unclear.
“The Strait of Hormuz was open before the bombing started,” Daalder said.

“Now ships may be going through. We don't know how many. We don't know when. We don't know where. And in any case, the Iranians are claiming they will maintain control," he said.


"That is a massive change in Iran's benefit and to the detriment not only of the United States and Israel," he said.

'NATO in grave danger after Iran war,' former US NATO ambassador warns

US President Trump's frequent threats to leave NATO, as well as the US army's heavy use of expensive, military assets in Iran has weakened the alliance, former US ambassador to NATO tells Euronews. #EuropeToday

www.euronews.com

 

[Saithan]

Defence: Europe needs a plan B for NATO

www.epc.eu

Europe mulls the prospect of a NATO without the US

As the US president escalates threats to destroy Iran, will NATO be collateral damage? A former American ambassador says the alliance is "not dead" but "deeply damaged" by trans-Atlantic divisions.

www.dw.com

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte has supported the US-Israeli action and played down the rift. "In the alliance, you will always have different views," he said on March 26. "But when it comes to not accepting Iran having a nuclear and missile capability, we all agree ... What the United States is doing now is degrading that capability. And yes, I applaud that."

How the hell did this person become secretary for NATO. He's still sucking up to US with this kind of comments for appeasing.

 

[TR_123456]

Defence: Europe needs a plan B for NATO

www.epc.eu

Europe mulls the prospect of a NATO without the US

As the US president escalates threats to destroy Iran, will NATO be collateral damage? A former American ambassador says the alliance is "not dead" but "deeply damaged" by trans-Atlantic divisions.

www.dw.com

How the hell did this person become secretary for NATO. He's still sucking up to US with this kind of comments for appeasing.

They needed a suck-up so they got one,he has experience gained in fucking things up as prime minister of the Netherlands for 14 years.
Nobody liked him.

 

[Saithan]

But they kept electing him over and over again if I remember correct

 

[TR_123456]

But they kept electing him over and over again if I remember correct

His party is no more the biggest,lost 30% of its seats in parliament.

 

[Sanchez]

Defence: Europe needs a plan B for NATO

www.epc.eu

Europe mulls the prospect of a NATO without the US

As the US president escalates threats to destroy Iran, will NATO be collateral damage? A former American ambassador says the alliance is "not dead" but "deeply damaged" by trans-Atlantic divisions.

www.dw.com

How the hell did this person become secretary for NATO. He's still sucking up to US with this kind of comments for appeasing.

Secretary general's job isn't to create policy; it's to keep everyone on a near footing. His biggest job is keeping Trump happy, Erdoğan in check and Orban non relevant. He's honestly doing a great job so far. I applaud the guy.

 

[TurkWolf]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/2045144378717434045

The type of language you're used to seeing from trolls on X/YouTube comments.. what is he trying to gain from such nonsense? Just cannot figure this one out.

 

[Saithan]

What's horrible is that reliable news of what is going on is so little that more people are listening to the gambling of Trump.

So when Trump spews out stuff like this, some news should be able to instantly refute such posting

 

[Saithan]

NATO military chiefs meet as Iran war depletes alliance's arsenal

NATO allies are increasingly concerned that the US's massive campaign in Iran is starting to constrain their supplies of top-grade weapons, including interceptors. A meeting of the alliance's military chiefs Tuesday will discuss the urgent need to ramp up weapons production at scale. #EuropeNews

www.euronews.com

 

[Saithan]

Europe's five largest military powers meet ahead of key NATO summit

The leaders of Europe's largest military powers met in Berlin on Wednesday in preparation for a pivotal NATO summit next month, to discuss support and security guarantees for Ukraine and how to strengthen the Atlantic Alliance's European Pillar. #EuropeNews

www.euronews.com

Guess Türkiye is not part of Europe then

 

[Nilgiri]

Europe's five largest military powers meet ahead of key NATO summit

The leaders of Europe's largest military powers met in Berlin on Wednesday in preparation for a pivotal NATO summit next month, to discuss support and security guarantees for Ukraine and how to strengthen the Atlantic Alliance's European Pillar. #EuropeNews

www.euronews.com

Guess Türkiye is not part of Europe then

Well Anatolia is literally known as Asia minor heh.

 

[TR_123456]

Europe's five largest military powers meet ahead of key NATO summit

The leaders of Europe's largest military powers met in Berlin on Wednesday in preparation for a pivotal NATO summit next month, to discuss support and security guarantees for Ukraine and how to strengthen the Atlantic Alliance's European Pillar. #EuropeNews

www.euronews.com

Guess Türkiye is not part of Europe then

Its Euronews,all about the European Union.
So,the title is misleading.

 

[Saithan]

Trump wanted Europe to spend more on defense. He may not like how it’s doing that.​

As European countries spend more on their militaries, they’re not buying American as much as they once did.

A French Air Force Rafale fighter jet performs during an exhibition flight in Le Bourget, France, on June 18, 2025.Julien De Rosa / AFP via Getty Images


Jul. 16, 2026, 2:03 PM EDT
By Lily Becker

President Donald Trump spent years telling Europe it couldn’t keep relying on the United States to defend it.
Europe appears to have gotten the message.

Germany is doubling its defense budget over the next four years. NATO members have agreed to work toward spending 5% of gross domestic product on defense. And European governments are cooperating more closely on everything from missile defense to joint weapons procurement.

But Europe isn’t spending more to please Trump. It’s spending because it’s increasingly convinced that the U.S. may no longer be a dependable ally — and that may backfire on the U.S. for decades to come.

The euros are flowing — just not to American defense contractors.

The euros are flowing — just not to American defense contractors as much as they once did. As Europe builds its own defense industrial base, Trump’s push for it to shoulder more of its own defense may be undermining two other priorities: expanding American manufacturing and maintaining America’s military and international influence.

In many ways, his policies are helping unravel the post-World War II bargain under which the U.S. guaranteed Europe’s security while European allies bought American weapons, hosted U.S. troops and anchored an international alliance led by Washington.
The shift in spending is dramatic. Germany’s procurement plan lists 154 major purchases through 2026. Only 8% are going to U.S. suppliers, a dramatic reversal for one of Washington’s biggest defense customers.

The European Union has said it wants 55% of all military purchases to come from European factories by 2030, under a defense plan worth roughly $915 billion. The U.S. share of European arms imports has already fallen to 58% over the last five years, from 64% previously, with contractors in South Korea, France and Israel picking up the difference.

European officials frame the shift as necessity, not retaliation. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas has argued that European weapons should come without restrictions on their use, saying militaries need “free hands.”

The scale of the buildup is remarkable for post-Cold War Europe. Germany’s parliament approved a 2026 defense budget of more than more than $120 billion, and Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s government has endorsed plans to push defense and security spending above $230 billion annually by 2030, roughly one-third of the federal budget. Germany increased military spending by 24% last year to $114 billion, the largest increase among European NATO members and the first time since reunification that it exceeded 2% of GDP. To make that possible, Merz exempted military spending from Germany’s constitutional debt brake, overturning decades of fiscal restraint.

Germany is also leading the European Sky Shield Initiative, a continent-wide missile defense system, while exploring closer nuclear deterrence cooperation with France and Britain.

Trump has taken credit for the surge. After NATO allies agreed at last year’s summit at The Hague to work toward the 5% target, he called it a historic achievement, saying the U.S. had long been “carrying much more than our fair share.”

​

He wasn’t wrong about the scale. European NATO defense spending grew faster in 2025 than at any point since 1953, according to SIPRI.

But SIPRI credits more than Trump’s pressure. Researchers point to “the ongoing pursuit of European self-reliance.” Trump’s repeated attacks on allies, combined with a Pentagon strategy that expects Europe to take greater responsibility for its own defense, have convinced many governments that they can no longer count on the U.S. the way they once did. At this month’s follow-up summit in Ankara, Turkey, Trump reinforced that message, calling most European nations “decaying.”

Still, there are limits. Europe will have no homegrown alternative to the F-35 until at least the late 2030s, and a dozen European countries had ordered or selected 466 of the American-made fighters by the end of last year. Even Merz acknowledges that Europe will “remain dependent on the United States of America for a long time to come.”

Still, the trajectory is clear. Trump spent a decade demanding that Europe pay more for its own defense. It is doing exactly that — while increasingly building the factories, technologies and supply chains to sustain that defense on its own.

Historians may ultimately judge this as one of Trump’s most consequential foreign policy achievements, or one of his greatest mistakes.

If the trend continues, historians may ultimately judge this as one of Trump’s most consequential foreign policy achievements, or one of his greatest mistakes. Presidents have long argued about the appropriate troop levels and defense budgets to protect Europe. Trump may be changing something much more fundamental: whether Europe sees the United States as indispensable.
For 80 years, American military power underpinned not just Europe’s security but also America’s global influence. The U.S. didn’t simply defend Europe. It helped shape European defense strategy, sold European militaries much of their equipment and forged alliances that amplified American power far beyond its borders. That bargain was struck when Europe lay devastated by World War II and faced a growing Soviet threat. It would be difficult to re-create today.

A more self-reliant Europe may prove stronger in the long run. But it would also mean an America that is less central to European security and potentially less influential in world affairs.

This is a preview of MS NOW’s Project 47 Newsletter. As President Trump continues implementing his ambitious agenda, get expert analysis on the administration’s latest actions and how others are pushing back sent straight to your inbox
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Trump wanted Europe to spend more on defense. He may not like how it’s doing that.

As European countries spend more on their militaries, they’re not buying American as much as they once did.

www.ms.now