US Won't Quit NATO But May Pivot From Europe, NATO Admiral Says
(Bloomberg) -- The US is likely to maintain its commitment to NATO, though it may reduce its troop presence in Europe as its priorities shift to the Indo-Pacific region, a top alliance official said.
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Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, who took over as the chair of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's Military Committee last month, spoke on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, where European leaders were coming to terms with President Donald Trump's new administration, including the prospect of fading US security protection.
The US 'will not pull out of NATO,' Cavo Dragone, an Italian naval officer, said in an interview in Munich. But a withdrawal of some of the 100,000 troops stationed in Europe could be on the agenda because of 'some commitments that the United States has far away from here, in the Pacific,' he said.
Still, 'I don't think there will be a huge number of Americans taken out from Europe,' the admiral said.
The US Defense Department didn't respond to a request seeking comment.
European security was paramount at the gathering in the Bavarian capital, above all how to resolve Russia's three-year war on Ukraine. European and Ukrainian leaders were caught off guard by Trump's plan to meet with President Vladimir Putin, with many fretting that they may be frozen out of talks.
Cavo Dragone aligned with many NATO members in Europe calling for increased defense spending, acknowledging that shifting US priorities meant that the continent needed to boost its military strength.
'There is a kind of imbalance, so we need to re-balance,' the admiral said, calling the notion that Europe isn't able to defend itself 'blasphemy.'
Any American draw-down in Europe has to be accepted by NATO with an 'operational attitude,' Cavo Dragone said, adding that militaries in the region need to be able to fill the gap.
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