Pete Hegseth has accused the bloc’s European members of putting the lives of American servicemembers at risk
Published 19 Jun, 2026 00:49
| Updated 19 Jun, 2026 05:38
US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth addresses the NATO defence ministers’ meeting in Brussels, June 18, 2026 © Omar Havana / Getty Images
US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has announced a six-month review of America’s military footprint in Europe, warning that future deployments, funding and basing arrangements will depend on whether NATO members meet Washington’s demands.
Speaking at a meeting of NATO defense ministers in Brussels, Hegseth accused European members of refusing to provide predictable access to their bases and airspace during the US war with Iran.
“It was shameful,” he said. “These allies… put America’s sons and daughters, our sons and daughters, at risk… There’s no excuse for that.”
The remarks came as Washington is already scaling back forces and assets earmarked for NATO operations in Europe, forcing the bloc’s planners to revise assumptions about US support in a crisis.
The cuts reportedly include one-third of pledged US fighter jets and long-range bombers, along with aerial refueling tankers, maritime surveillance aircraft and key naval assets once factored into NATO contingency plans.
“I’m announcing today a six-month Department of War review that will examine America’s force posture and basing in Europe,” Hegseth said, adding that countries that fail to spend “with urgency” could see US dues reduced.
The criticism landed during the first NATO ministerial attended by Britain’s new defense secretary, Dan Jarvis, who replaced John Healey after a dispute with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer over military spending. London has pledged to reach NATO’s new 5% spending target by 2035, including 3.5% on direct military expenditure, but Jarvis arrived in Brussels without announcing any new funding commitments.
For years, US President Donald Trump has berated European NATO members, accusing them of not paying enough for their own defense, despite the fact that they have spent billions arming Kiev in its conflict with Moscow. Many of the same governments have also invoked the threat of a looming Russian attack to justify increased military spending.
The split has widened over Iran, after several NATO members, including France, Spain, and Italy, restricted access to their bases and airspace for US aircraft involved in the bombing campaign. London allowed American forces to strike Iran from RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire, but Hegseth nevertheless criticized the UK.
“Whether it’s in the UK, or Diego Garcia… We can’t live in a world where other countries are standing at the end of a runway with a clipboard trying to decide what flies and what doesn’t,” he told journalists, referring to his later discussions with Jarvis.
Hegseth framed the dispute as part of Europe’s broader failure to carry its share of NATO’s military burden. He said the bloc had become a “paper tiger and a one-way street” after the Cold War, drifting away from “hard power” into distraction, deindustrialization, demilitarization and “free riding.”
According to Hegseth, Trump is seeking to turn the bloc into “NATO 3.0” – a more openly militarized bloc in which Europe leads its own conventional defense while the US focuses on its global priorities.
