Secretary of War Pete Hegseth dished out a dose of tough love to NATO allies Thursday, telling them that the U.S. will take a hard look at its force structure in Europe with an eye toward letting Europe increasingly protect itself.
“This will be a real review. It will be designed to ensure that NATO is moving fast and irreversibly toward Europe leading, stepping up to take primary responsibility for the defense of Europe,” he told his NATO counterparts in Brussels, according to NBC News.
Hegseth called the refusal of alleged allies to allow U.S. planes to use their bases during the Iran War “shameful.”
“These allies, they put America’s sons and daughters, our sons and daughters, at risk by denying them the predictable access, basing and overflight that never should have been in question at all,” he said.
Hegseth said it is time to build “NATO 3.0” that can handle threats without the United States doing all the work.
“NATO 3.0 is post-Cold War recognition that (NATO) needs to go back to a real hard-line military alliance that has real military capabilities capable of deterring right here on the continent and taking the lead for the conventional defense of Europe,” Hegseth said.
Allies “have to be willing to stand up and do something in a strong way about” defending their own continent.
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That will be a major change, he said.
“Instead of tanks and fighters and air defenses, the focus has been on gender equity and climate change and defense austerity. Europe’s borders flew wide open, welfare states expanded, defense budgets cratered, along with Europe’s belief in itself and its civilization,” Hegseth said, according to Fox News,
Hegseth said the review would last no longer than six months, according to a news release on the War Department website.
“We’re going to keep a close eye on allies who are not doing that and who say ‘no,’ or ‘maybe’ or ‘wait and see’ when it matters most,” he said. “It’s a review that some countries will fail, and others will pass with flying colors. In the end, the review is intended to both improve U.S. force posture and basing and strengthen NATO 3.0.”
“This is the right thing to do by the American people; it’s the right thing to do by this alliance. Europe can and must take primary responsibility for its conventional defense as it pledged at The Hague Summit and in the process, safeguarding Europe’s defense for generations to come,” he said.
The review, he said, will “ensure our forces are postured for America’s global needs, and stepping up to make sure that our access, basing and overflight are clearly delineated and assured.”
NATO 3.0: Europe must take the lead. pic.twitter.com/9mosHqg0BD
— Secretary of War Pete Hegseth (@SecWar) June 18, 2026
“Going forward, our annual NATO dues will be contingent on other countries meeting their defense spending targets; where other allies do not spend with urgency, our dues contributions will go down,” Hegseth said.
“NATO will be a two-way street. It’s only common sense. America cannot care for or pay more for Europe’s defense than our allies do,” he said.
Hegseth said the U.S. will not abandon its partners, but neither will it pay their share of costs for defense.
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