(March 19, 2025 at 2:57 pm)BrianSoddingBoru4 Wrote: Could this be the next step in the US withdrawing from NATO?
Trump Admin Weighing Relinquishing NATO Command
Quote:For nearly 75 years, it has been a distinctly American responsibility to have a four-star U.S. general oversee all NATO military operations in Europe — a command that began with then-World War II hero and future president Dwight D. Eisenhower.
But the Trump administration, according to two defense officials familiar with the planning and a Pentagon briefing reviewed by NBC News, is considering changing that.
Boru
... and in related news:
Quote:Sparked in large measure by concerns that the U.S. is aligning itself closer to Russia, receding from its traditional ties with NATO and the stability of U.S. weapons exports, the European Union has created a new initiative to increase defense spending and drastically boost local arms production. The move to 'buy local' could effectively freeze the U.S. out of billions of dollars in potential arms sales.
Rankled by U.S. President Donald Trump's imposing tariffs and repeatedly saying that Canada should become the 51st state, Ottawa is deep into talks about joining this initiative.
The goals of the new "European Defense Readiness 2030" plan were laid out Wednesday in a white paper issued by the alliance. The initiative calls for increasing defense spending, simplifying regulations and streamlining industrial programs. It seeks the creation of an 800 billion Euro ($872 billion) pool of money to boost European arms production. That includes a suggested 1.5% of GDP increase in defense budgets anticipated to raise 650 billion Euros (about $709 billion) and 150 billion Euros ($163 billion) for the new Security Action for Europe (SAFE) loan program "to help countries invest in key defense areas like missile defense, drones, and cyber security," according to the EU.
https://www.twz.com/news-features/new-eu...f-billions
