WASHINGTON: The White House is considering a plan to punish some members of the NATO alliance that President Trump thinks were unhelpful to the U.S. and Israel during the Iran war, according to administration officials.
Wall Street Journal reported that the proposal would involve moving U.S. troops out of North Atlantic Treaty Organization member countries deemed unhelpful to the Iran war effort and stationing them in countries that were more supportive. The proposal would fall far short of President Trump’s recent threats to fully withdraw the U.S. from the alliance, which by law he can’t do without Congress.
The plan could also involve closing a U.S. base in at least one of the European countries, possibly Spain or Germany, according to the report, citing two Trump administration officials.
Countries that could benefit because they are viewed as supportive include Poland, Romania, Lithuania and Greece, the officials were quoted as saying.
Spain blocked U.S. planes involved in the U.S. military operation against Iran from using its airspace. Italy briefly blocked the U.S. use of an air base in Sicily, and the French government agreed to only allow the United States to use a base in southern France after it guaranteed that planes not involved in Iran strikes would land there, according to the WSJ report.
The White House is also frustrated with Germany after top German officials criticized Trump’s decision to launch massive attacks on Iran, said the report.
“It’s quite sad that NATO turned their backs on the American people over the last six weeks when it’s the American people who have been funding their defense,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said at a press briefing on Wednesday.
She said Trump plans to have a very “frank and candid conversation” with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte at the White House on Wednesday afternoon.
The rift in the transatlantic alliance has widened during Trump’s second term, fueled by his decision to launch the war on Iran on Feb. 28 and earlier tensions over his push to take over Denmark’s Greenland.
Trump has recently threatened to fully withdraw the United States from NATO, although he cannot do so without congressional approval under law.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said on Wednesday he believes that some NATO countries were tested and failed amid Washington’s criticism over European allies not getting involved in the US and Israel’s war against Iran.
Rutte’s comments came after a meeting with US President Donald Trump at the White House earlier in the day.
During an interview with CNN, the NATO chief was asked if he believed NATO countries were tested and failed.
“Some of them yes, but a large majority of European countries, and that’s what we discussed today, have done what they promised before in a case like this,” he told CNN.
The Republican president has threatened to withdraw from the 32-member transatlantic alliance and denounced Washington’s European allies in recent weeks for what he said was inadequate support for the US-Israeli bombing campaign in Iran.
Trump said on Tuesday the attacks would be paused after the two sides agreed to a two-week ceasefire.
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