An official Pentagon email reportedly outlined U.S. plans to suspend Spain from NATO and revisit Britain’s claims over the Falkland Islands after European allies refused to assist America in the Iran conflict.
The options were laid out by Elbridge Colby, a top Pentagon policy adviser, who called out certain allies forrefusingto give the United States access to bases and airspace, known as “ABO,” ReutersreportedFriday.
The outlet cited an anonymous official who described the email in detail.
Colby wrote that ABO is “just the absolute baseline for NATO,” according to the official, which is being discussed among top Pentagon leadership.
President Donald Trump has been highly critical of NATO and the European Union since his first term in office and recently expressed frustration about their lack of involvement insecuringthe Strait of Hormuz.
He has eventhreatened to pullAmerica out of the alliance altogether, arguing that the U.S. has been subsidizing European defense and received little in return.
The president accused Europe of being ungrateful, especially considering how the United States rebuilt their countries after World War II under theMarshall Plan, and has continued providing aid and protection ever since.
“When World War II ended in 1945, Europe lay in ruins: its cities were shattered; its economies were devastated; its people faced famine. In the two years after the war, the Soviet Union’s control of Eastern Europe and the vulnerability of Western European countries to Soviet expansionism heightened the sense of crisis,”accordingto the National Archives.
“Over the next four years, Congress appropriated $13.3 billion for European recovery,” the National Archives article explained. “This aid provided much needed capital and materials that enabled Europeans to rebuild the continent’s economy.”
Back in March, Trump called out Spain and the United Kingdom for not paying their fair share into NATO and for resisting his administration’s requests.
Source: VidNews » Feed
