Hegseth announces review of US troops in Europe, scorns some allies

BRUSSELS — U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced a new review of America’s troop deployments in Europe on Thursday and threatened to withhold some U.S. dues to NATO if “free riding” allies did not meet their defense spending commitments.

Hegseth, addressing defense ministers at NATO headquarters in Brussels, said the U.S. review would last for up to six months and include consultations with the U.S. Congress, which has legislated a minimum number of U.S. forces in Europe.

While he did not explicitly say the review could result in reductions in U.S. force deployments in Europe, he stressed the goal would be to prompt the continent to do more while ensuring the U.S. military would be able to meet its global commitments.

“Make no mistake about it, this will be a real review. It will be designed to ensure that NATO is moving fast and irreversibly toward Europe leading, stepping up to take primary responsibility for the defense of Europe,” Hegseth said.

Hegseth also slammed allies who did not support the United States during its war with Iran, after some denied the U.S. basing and overflight rights for war-related activities.

He said the U.S. review would ensure U.S. basing and overflight rights were assured.

His comments came as countries in the alliance scrambled to fill gaps in their crisis forces — national capabilities committed to the transatlantic alliance in an emergency — after Washington cut some contributions with immediate effect.

The U.S. told its allies last month that it had decided to shrink the pool of U.S. military capabilities available to the alliance in a crisis, raising urgent questions as leaders prepare for a NATO summit in Ankara on July 7-8.

The move is meant to gradually end an “unhealthy co-dependence” on U.S. forces as Washington faces the potential of simultaneous conflicts in multiple theaters, according to NATO’s top commander, U.S. Air Force Gen. Alexus Grynkewich.

Arriving for a meeting with his counterparts at NATO’s Brussels headquarters, Hegseth said the United States would be candid in public and private about countries that need to do more to meet their commitments.

“(There are) some that still need to do more, and we will be candid about that, both in private and in public. I think that’s important, friends being honest with friends,” Hegseth said.

“NATO 3.0 is post-Cold War recognition that it needs to go back to a real hardline military alliance that has real military capabilities capable of deterring right here on the continent and taking the lead for the conventional defense of Europe.”

NATO chief Mark Rutte acknowledged that the reduction of U.S contributions to NATO’s crisis forces has already taken effect.

“The question yesterday came up: Is this immediate or not? It is immediate,” he told reporters.

“However, why I’m a little bit reluctant to say this is because it is a planning tool. So what would happen in reality? If war would break out ... all allies, including the U.S., will max out what they can do to make sure we can fight the war.”

Some ministers spelled out offers to raise their contributions to NATO’s crisis pool as they entered the Brussels meeting.

Belgian Defence Minister Theo Francken said his country would contribute more to NATO’s crisis forces to help replace some U.S. capabilities, including with F-16 fighter jets and MQ-9B SkyGuardian drones.

“There will be heavy discussions on who is doing what, but I can say that Belgium is contributing,” the minister said.

Plugging other gaps will take longer as Europeans lack weapons such as deep strike missiles, prompting German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius to call for a synchronized process to prevent “dangerous capability gaps in Europe.”

“It is difficult and dangerous for the security of NATO’s territory in Europe if capabilities are withdrawn very quickly without having clarity when they can be compensated for,” he warned, citing deep strike as one of the capabilities hard to replace.

“There, we will need either stop-gap solutions or time before their withdrawal. This will need to be negotiated with our American partners. Generally, we will be able to compensate much but we will need some more time,” Pistorius said.

The U.S. has not publicly disclosed details of its reductions, but they range from refueling aircraft to fighter jets, drones and ships, according to figures provided to Reuters by a military source.

The number of U.S. F-15 and F-15E fighter jets available to NATO will fall by a third to 99 and the number of MQ-4 and MQ-9 Reaper drones by half to 12, according to the source.

布鲁塞尔——美国国防部长皮特·赫格塞斯周四宣布对美国在欧洲的部队部署进行新的审查，并威胁称，如果“搭便车”的盟国不履行其国防开支承诺，美国将扣留部分应缴北约的会费。

赫格塞斯在布鲁塞尔北约总部向各国国防部长发表讲话时表示，美国的审查将持续长达六个月，其中包括与美国国会的磋商，美国国会已立法规定了驻欧美军的最低人数。

虽然他没有明确表示此次审查可能会导致美国在欧洲的兵力部署减少，但他强调，其目标是促使欧洲大陆做出更多贡献，同时确保美国军方能够履行其全球承诺。

“毫无疑问，这将是一次真正的审查。其目的是为了确保北约快速且不可逆转地朝着欧洲领导、承担欧洲防务主要责任的方向发展，”赫格塞斯说。

赫格塞斯还抨击了在美伊战争期间不支持美国的盟友，因为一些盟友拒绝给予美国在与战争相关的活动中使用基地和飞越的权利。

他表示，美国的审查将确保美国的基地和飞越权得到保障。

在他发表这番言论之际，联盟各国正争相填补其危机应对力量（即在紧急情况下向跨大西洋联盟提供的国家能力）的缺口，此前华盛顿立即削减了一些国家的出资额。

美国上个月告诉其盟友，它已决定缩减北约在危机情况下可用的美国军事能力，这引发了紧迫的问题，因为各国领导人正准备于 7 月 7 日至 8 日在安卡拉举行北约峰会。

北约最高指挥官、美国空军上将亚历克西斯·格林克维奇表示，此举旨在逐步结束对美国军队的“不健康的相互依赖”，因为华盛顿面临着在多个战区同时发生冲突的可能性。

赫格塞斯抵达北约布鲁塞尔总部与同行会面时表示，美国将在公开和私下场合坦率地指出哪些国家需要为履行承诺做出更多努力。

“（确实）有些人还需要做得更多，我们会在私下和公开场合坦诚地谈论这一点。我认为这很重要，朋友之间应该坦诚相待，”赫格塞斯说道。

“北约 3.0 是后冷战时代对北约的认识，即北约需要回归真正的强硬军事联盟，拥有真正的军事能力，能够在这片大陆上进行威慑，并在欧洲的常规防御中发挥领导作用。”

北约秘书长马克·吕特承认，美国减少对北约危机部队的贡献已经生效。

“昨天有人问：这是否立即生效？答案是立即生效，”他告诉记者。

“然而，我之所以不太愿意这么说，是因为这只是一个计划工具。那么现实情况会如何呢？如果战争爆发……包括美国在内的所有盟国都会竭尽全力确保我们能够打赢这场战争。”

一些部长在布鲁塞尔会议召开之际，明确表示愿意增加对北约危机资金池的贡献。

比利时国防部长西奥·弗兰肯表示，比利时将向北约危机部队做出更多贡献，以帮助取代美国的一些能力，包括F-16战斗机和MQ-9B“天空卫士”无人机。

“关于谁在做什么，将会有激烈的讨论，但我可以肯定地说，比利时正在做出贡献，”这位部长说。

填补其他方面的差距需要更长时间，因为欧洲人缺乏纵深打击导弹等武器，这促使德国国防部长鲍里斯·皮斯托里乌斯呼吁采取同步行动，以防止“欧洲出现危险的能力差距”。

他警告说：“如果迅速撤回某些能力，而又不清楚何时才能得到补偿，这对北约在欧洲的领土安全来说是困难且危险的。”他指出，纵深打击是难以替代的能力之一。

“在那方面，我们需要一些临时解决方案，或者在他们撤军之前争取一些时间。这需要与我们的美国伙伴进行谈判。一般来说，我们能够做出很多补偿，但我们需要更多的时间，”皮斯托瑞斯说。

美国尚未公开披露其削减的具体细节，但据一位军方消息人士向路透社提供的数据，削减范围涵盖了从加油机到战斗机、无人机和舰艇等各种项目。

消息人士称，北约可用的美国F-15和F-15E战斗机数量将减少三分之一，至99架；MQ-4和MQ-9“死神”无人机的数量将减少一半，至12架。