U.S. Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker said the United States remains firmly committed to the NATO alliance, but warned European nations must dramatically increase defense investment to meet growing security threats.
Whitaker addressed concerns raised during political debates in the Czech Republic over NATO obligations, telling Politico on Saturday that alliance commitments must be taken seriously.
"The Czech government, certainly from a political campaign standpoint, said things about NATO and their willingness to be bound by the commitment that we made at The Hague," Whitaker said.
Whitaker rejected claims the U.S. is preparing to pull back from Europe.
"Americans are not leaving Europe or the alliance," he said.
The comments come as the Trump administration continues its long-running push for NATO members to meet defense spending requirements, arguing the burden has fallen disproportionately on the United States for years.
President Donald Trump has repeatedly criticized countries that fail to meet the alliance's benchmark of spending at least 2% of GDP on defense, calling for greater burden-sharing and warning that the U.S. cannot indefinitely subsidize European security.
Whitaker said the U.S. wants Europe to assume a greater role in conventional military readiness.
"We need Europe, which are very rich countries, very successful countries, to sort of take over the conventional defense," he said. "That frees up the United States to take care of these other challenges and threats with our allies in those regions."
Whitaker argued NATO allies must improve both military spending and coordination.
"But I think ultimately they're going to realize, that you're going to have to be stronger, you're going to have to invest in capabilities and you're going to have to train more with NATO allies to make sure we're interoperable and we can fight as one," he said.
He noted that the U.S. continues to outspend allies on defense, saying America is "leading from the front' in terms of defense spending.
"This is going to be a long haul, and we've got to make sure that everybody maintains their discipline and their political will," Whitaker said.
Whitaker again emphasized the Trump administration's message that Washington is committed, but expects Europe to contribute more.
"The United States is not abandoning Europe, we're not leaving," Whitaker said. "We're just saying that together we are stronger, and we expect our European allies to match, and we expect you to be ready, we expect you to be more lethal than you have been and we expect you to be a lot more capable."
James Morley III ✉
James Morley III is a writer with more than two decades of experience in entertainment, travel, technology, and science and nature.
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