Pentagon informs NATO of reducing its military support in crisis situations

The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, citing officials, that the Pentagon informed its allies in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) of a plan for a significant reduction in the forces and military capabilities that the United States commits during crisis situations, in a step that reflects a shift in American military deployment priorities.

The anticipated reductions include cutting key strategic assets such as long-range bombers, aircraft, and naval support, raising concerns within the alliance about the level of the American commitment to European security in the coming period.

The newspaper quoted current and former officials familiar with the matter that Alexander Velez-Green, an official in the US Department of Defense, informed NATO allies of the planned reductions during a closed meeting held last week at the alliance's headquarters in the Belgian capital, Brussels.

According to the officials, the Trump administration seeks to reduce the size of the military capabilities group that the United States allocates to NATO in the event of a conflict breaking out, by a rate ranging between one-third and one-half, including reducing commitments related to strategic bombers and long-range strike forces, in addition to some naval assets and aerial refueling aircraft.

This step comes ahead of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) leaders' summit in Ankara, Turkey, in July. Trump is expected to attend the meeting and pressure other allied leaders to take more responsibility for the defense of Europe.

This follows other moves by the Pentagon to reduce the American military presence in Europe, which the Defense Department said are necessary to enable the United States to reallocate more forces to the Pacific where the US seeks to deter China's growing military power.

The Pentagon withdrew an army brigade from Romania last year and canceled the deployment of an armored brigade to Poland earlier this month. After growing concerns that this cancellation would punish an ideal ally that spends 5% of its GDP on the military — a spending trend Trump urged — Trump announced the sending of an additional 5,000 American soldiers to Poland. He did not disclose whether they would come from other European countries, or whether he is prepared to redeploy the suspended forces.

The size and speed of the American reductions have worried some American lawmakers, who fear that the administration is undermining the American commitment to NATO at a time when the forces of Russian President Vladimir Putin still pose a threat, and European allies are still struggling to fill the gaps.

Trump launched a scathing attack on NATO during his second term, accusing some European allies of not supporting the American military campaign against Tehran. He singled out Germany, which hosts the largest number of American forces in Europe, against the backdrop of criticism by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz of the United States for lacking an effective strategy in its war with Iran.

The reductions announced by Velez-Green to NATO relate to the force group that the United States allocated for the defense of the alliance in crisis situations. This model is known as the "NATO Force Model," which specifies the forces and resources that countries will provide during the first ten days, the first thirty days, and the first one hundred and eighty days of a conflict or crisis.