Donald Trump considered cutting by one-third the number of US troops stationed in Europe, as a signal to NATO allied countries, according to sources familiar with the discussions held at the White House.
CNN reports that the idea was presented during a meeting held this spring, in which Trump expressed dissatisfaction because allies did not join his military campaign against Iran.
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At roughly the same time, the Pentagon canceled two deployments of US forces to Europe and ordered the withdrawal of part of its personnel from the continent.
According to the report, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had planned to announce even deeper cuts to the American military presence at the NATO summit in June. But after consultations with senior administration officials, that plan was replaced with a six-month review of US forces in Europe.
Sources say Trump continues to maintain a skeptical stance toward NATO, claiming that the main burden of defending Europe falls on the United States, while allies are not contributing enough.
The US president has also not ruled out the scenario of the United States leaving the alliance and has previously threatened to take Greenland, a territory of Denmark, a NATO member state. These positions have heightened concern among European allies about the future of the American commitment to the continent’s security.
