U.S. Troop Withdrawals From Europe Won't Hurt Defenses, Says NATO Chief
· Time
The withdrawal of U.S. troops “will not have an impact on NATO's defense plans” and will unfold in a gradual "structured” way, according to NATO chief Mark Rutte.
“We know that adjustments will take place, the U.S. has to pivot more towards, for example, Asia," Rutte said at a press conference in Brussels Wednesday.
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He went on to suggest it’s time for Europe to “take a bigger role together with Canada” advocating for “a stronger Europe in a stronger NATO, taking more of the responsibility for the conventional defence.”
Rutte’s remarks came a day after the Pentagon announced it has “reduced the total number of Brigade Combat Teams (BCTs) assigned to Europe from four to three,” returning the levels of BCTs in Europe to what they were in 2021.
BCTs are “stand-alone and self-sufficient tactical units that train and deploy together on a rotating basis,” according to the U.S. Central Command.
The Pentagon’s chief spokesperson flagged this change as the reason behind the delayed deployment of 4,000 U.S. troops to Poland earlier this month—a move which one Republican lawmaker had labeled a “slap in the face” to the European country.
The change of plans impacting Poland came shortly after Washington announced it was withdrawing 5,000 troops from Germany.
But Rutte downplayed the tensions when asked by a reporter if Trump’s “surprise” announcements are undermining NATO’s deterrence. He insisted that the U.S. will remain “involved” with Europe, albeit with adjustments.
Rutte’s assurances echoed those made by NATO’s top commander, U.S. Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, who indicated Tuesday that he did not expect further withdrawals of American troops from Europe in the “near term.”
Instead, he said, the gradual process of redeployment will take place “over time as [European] allies build their capacity” and could take “several years.”
Still, concerns in Europe remain, as Trump has threatened to withdraw troops from E.U. countries he deems have been unsupportive to his mission during the Iran war.
These criticisms come amid Trump’s wider ambition to reduce the U.S. spending on NATO defense that the alliance currently relies heavily on, something which Rutte himself seemingly agrees should happen.
“Part of keeping this alliance strong involves shifting responsibilities. Moving away from unhealthy over-reliance on one ally to a fairer sharing of the responsibility for our collective security,” he said Wednesday.
But Trump’s criticisms of NATO run deep—and he has repeatedly threatened to withdraw the U.S. from the alliance altogether, which has been met with warnings from European allies and an impassioned championing of the alliance from King Charles III.
Withdrawals come amid a growing rift between the U.S. and European allies
The Trump Administration’s move to withdraw 5,000 troops from Germany followed Trump publicly clashed with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, after he took umbrage to the European leader’s assessment that the U.S. was being “humiliated” by Iranian leadership amid stalled peace talks between Washington and Tehran.
In response, Trump told Merz to focus on the Russia-Ukraine conflict and matters within his own country rather than “interfering” with the Iran war.
Trump has also threatened to pull U.S. troops from Italy and Spain, further signifying the discord between the U.S. and Europe.
The U.S. President has clashed with Spain over a number of key issues—from NATO defense spending to the Iran war, which Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has repeatedly called “illegal.”
Spain denied America access to its joint-military bases to attack Iran and also proceeded to close its airspace to U.S. planes involved in the conflict. The country's position has drawn repeated criticism from Trump, who threatened to cut trade ties with Spain in March.
Reports of a leaked internal Pentagon email, which reportedly indicated the U.S. was floating the idea of suspending Spain from NATO as part of a move to punish “difficult” allies, also did little to ease tensions.
Trump previously had a close alliance with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, but relations have become splintered due to Italy’s refusal to get actively involved in the Iran war and its leaders’ response to the President’s verbal attacks on Pope Leo.
Beyond this, disagreements between the U.S. and NATO allies over Greenland are still simmering, after major disputes developed earlier this year regarding Trump’s unwelcome push to annex the semi-autonomous Danish territory.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio is due to travel to Sweden on Friday to meet with European counterparts and Greenland is set to be on the agenda.
It’s unclear if Rubio’s talks with European officials will serve as a step forward, but there is one leading force in NATO who has maintained a working relationship with the U.S. President.
Rutte’s strong relationship with Trump has persisted throughout splintering ties
Rutte's interactions with the President—and the results they appear to yield—have helped earn him the moniker of “Trump whisperer.”
The NATO chief took a measured response earlier this year amid heightened tensions between Trump and European allies after the U.S. President renewed his efforts to annex Greenland.
While the NATO chief largely avoided commenting specifically on the threat to Greenland, he showed support for Trump’s concerns over Arctic security—an argument the President made when pushing his Greenland stance.
“When it comes to the Arctic, I think President Trump is right, other leaders in NATO are right: we need to defend the Arctic. We know that the sea lanes are opening up. We know that China and Russia are increasingly active in the Arctic,” Rutte said.
Rutte also suggested that NATO should be happy with Trump’s push for increased financial commitments from Europe, which last year resulted in most members of the alliance pledging to increase their national spending on defense to 5% of GDP by 2035.
“I'm not popular with you now because I'm defending Donald Trump, but I really believe you can be happy that he is there because he has forced us in Europe to step up, to face the consequences that we have to take care more of our own defence,” he argued.
Amid the rising tensions, Rutte and Trump enjoyed, what the latter referred to as, a "very productive meeting" on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum which ultimately led to Trump walking back his threats to impose tariffs on European partners over Greenland.
Despite some successful results, Rutte's defense of Trump—and his one-time use of the nickname "daddy" has earned him criticism.
In March, he received blowback over comments regarding the Iran war.
“The President doing this is crucial… I really hope the American people will be with him, because he is doing this to make the whole world safer,” said Rutte, arguing that if Iran had nuclear and missile capability, it would be an “existential threat” to Europe and the stability of the world.
Rutte previously addressed how he is often critiqued for his praise of the U.S. President. “I hear the criticism, obviously. I'm not deaf,” he said earlier this year, but he insisted that the praise over Trump’s leadership is “warranted.”