US plans to shrink forces available to NATO during crises, sources say

The Trump administration is planning to tell NATO allies this week that it will shrink the pool of military capabilities that the U.S. would have available to assist the alliance’s European nations in a major crisis, three sources familiar with the matter said.

Under a framework known as the NATO Force Model, the alliance’s member countries identify a pool of available forces that could be activated during a conflict or any other major crisis, such as a military attack on a NATO member.

While the precise composition of those wartime forces is a closely guarded secret, the Pentagon has decided to significantly scale down its commitment, said the sources, who requested anonymity to speak candidly about the plans.

U.S. President Donald Trump has made clear he expects European countries to take over primary responsibility for the continent’s security from the United States. The message to allies this week is a concrete sign of that policy being implemented.

Several details were unclear, such as how quickly the Pentagon plans to shift crisis-mode responsibilities onto European allies. The sources said, however, that the Pentagon plans to announce its intention to lessen its commitment at a Friday meeting of defense policy chiefs in Brussels.

Pentagon policy chief Elbridge Colby has said publicly that the United States will continue to use its nuclear weapons to protect NATO members, even as European allies take the lead on conventional forces.

The U.S. will likely be represented by Alex Velez-Green, a key aide to Colby, the sources said. Adjusting the NATO Force Model has emerged as a key priority of Colby’s team heading into the next NATO leaders’ summit, which will take place in Turkey in July, one of the sources added.

A NATO spokesperson directed a request for comment to the United States. The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Alliance under strain

The NATO alliance is under unprecedented strain, with some European countries concerned that Washington may withdraw outright. A major adjustment to the forces the U.S. would make available during wartime will only intensify those concerns.

In the past few weeks, the Trump administration has announced plans to cut some 5,000 U.S. troops from Europe, including a decision to cancel a deployment of an Army brigade to Poland — a surprise decision that was slammed by U.S. lawmakers.

One of the sources and another source familiar with the matter said aides on Capitol Hill were aware of and concerned about the Pentagon’s plans to narrow its commitments under the NATO Force Model.

A senior NATO diplomat said, however, they still believed there is an understanding that the United States would come to Europe’s aid if it was in trouble.

Trump and many of his aides have slammed European allies for not spending enough on their militaries and relying on the U.S. for conventional defense, and they point out that the U.S. still has tens of thousands of troops in Europe.

The president’s ambition to take control of Greenland, a Danish overseas territory, has further inflamed transatlantic tensions, as has an ongoing spat between Trump and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who has sharply criticized Trump’s war with Iran.

European allies generally counter that they are rapidly beefing up their military capabilities, but that doing so cannot be done overnight.

三位知情人士透露，特朗普政府计划在本周告知北约盟国，美国将缩减在重大危机中可用于援助北约欧洲国家的军事能力。

在被称为北约部队模式的框架下，北约成员国确定了一批可用部队，这些部队可以在冲突或任何其他重大危机（例如对北约成员国的军事攻击）期间被激活。

消息人士称，虽然这些战时部队的具体组成是一个严守的秘密，但五角大楼已决定大幅缩减其投入。这些消息人士要求匿名，以便坦率地谈论相关计划。

美国总统唐纳德·特朗普已明确表示，他希望欧洲国家从美国手中接管欧洲大陆安全的主要责任。本周向盟友传递的信息，正是这一政策正在落实的具体迹象。

一些细节尚不清楚，例如五角大楼计划以多快的速度将危机应对责任转移给欧洲盟友。但消息人士称，五角大楼计划在周五于布鲁塞尔举行的国防政策负责人会议上宣布其减少军事部署的意图。

五角大楼政策主管埃尔布里奇·科尔比公开表示，即使欧洲盟国在常规部队方面占据主导地位，美国仍将继续使用核武器保护北约成员国。

消息人士称，美国方面很可能由科尔比的重要助手亚历克斯·维莱兹-格林代表出席。其中一位消息人士补充说，调整北约部队模式已成为科尔比团队在即将于7月在土耳其举行的下届北约领导人峰会上的首要任务。

北约发言人将置评请求转给了美国。五角大楼尚未对此事作出回应。

联盟面临压力

北约联盟正面临前所未有的压力，一些欧洲国家担心华盛顿可能会彻底退出。美国对战时兵力部署的重大调整只会加剧这些担忧。

在过去几周里，特朗普政府宣布了从欧洲削减约 5000 名美军的计划，其中包括取消向波兰部署一个陆军旅的决定——这一出人意料的决定遭到了美国国会议员的猛烈抨击。

一位消息人士和另一位熟悉此事的消息人士表示，国会山的助手们了解并担忧五角大楼计划缩减其在北约部队模式下的承诺。

一位北约高级外交官表示，他们仍然相信各方之间存在一种共识，即如果欧洲遇到麻烦，美国会伸出援手。

特朗普及其许多助手抨击欧洲盟友在军事上投入不足，依赖美国进行常规防御，并指出美国在欧洲仍然驻扎着数万名士兵。

总统想要控制丹麦海外领土格陵兰岛的野心，进一步加剧了跨大西洋紧张局势，而特朗普与德国总理弗里德里希·默茨之间持续不断的争执也加剧了这种紧张局势，默茨曾严厉批评特朗普对伊朗发动的战争。

欧洲盟友通常反驳说，他们正在迅速加强军事能力，但这不可能一蹴而就。