Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth started his maiden visit to European allies on Tuesday, February 11, which included Germany, Belgium, and Poland. One of his first stops was Stuttgart, Germany, where he met with leaders and members of the US European Command and US Africa Command. At the end of his meetings, he met with the press. The questions were germane to US national security, and Hegseth’s answers were candid and to the point. His message focused on the warfighter. He addressed US national security priorities and global interests, setting the tone and agenda for his meeting with the Ukraine Defense Contact Group (UDCG) and the NATO ministers.
Hegseth Brings a Message of Realism to Europe
Often, the UDCG, under the Biden administration, behaved as though just providing the Kyiv government with more weapons would lead to driving the Russian invaders back to pre-April 2014 borders. Remember the “as long as it takes” Biden strategy and the inferred “as many US tax dollars as it takes,” with no end in sight? The Trump national security team has a different worldview. As an overture to his round of discussions with NATO ministers about Ukraine, Secretary Hegseth visited with Britain’s Minister of Defense, John Healey, and his counterpart from Ukraine, Rustem Umerov.
In his first meeting with the UDCG, Hegseth provided a dose of reality. His opening statement clarified America’s position on the Russia-Ukraine war. “We are at a critical moment. As the war approaches its third anniversary, our message is clear: the bloodshed must stop, and this war must end,” he declared. “President Trump has been clear with the American people and many of your leaders, stopping the fighting and reaching an enduring peace is a top priority.” Additionally, he made the following key points:
“We will only end this devastating war and establish a durable peace by coupling allied strength with a realistic assessment of the battlefield.
“We must start by recognizing that returning to Ukraine’s pre-2014 borders is an unrealistic objective.
“The United States does not believe that NATO membership for Ukraine is a realistic outcome of a negotiated settlement.
“Any security guarantee must be backed by capable European and non-European troops. If these troops are deployed as peacekeepers to Ukraine at any point, they should be deployed as part of a non-NATO mission … not covered by Article 5. (An attack on one is an attack on all.)
“As part of any security guarantee, there will not be US troops deployed to Ukraine.
“President Trump is unleashing American energy production … Lower energy prices coupled with more effective enforcement of energy sanctions will help bring Russia to the [bargaining] table.”
Compared with the previous US defense secretary’s UDCG demeanor, this was an uncharacteristically candid new doctrine for Europe. The second point was a fait accompli when former President Obama did nothing in April 2014 to stop Russia from annexing Crimea.
Hegseth said he was expressing “directly and unambiguously” that “stark strategic realities” keep the US “from being primarily focused on the security of Europe.” The reason is not difficult to understand. The US has an imperative to focus on the threat to the security of its borders, and America must address a “peer competitor in the communist Chinese,” which is capable of menacing the US “homeland and [its] core national interests in the Indo-Pacific.” America’s new defense secretary concluded by assuaging attendees' fears that the US was abandoning its security relationship with Europe. He explained: “The United States remains committed to the NATO alliance and to the defense partnership with Europe. Full stop.” Nonetheless, the Trump message communicated by Hegseth was unequivocal. The war in Ukraine must stop. The US will “empower” Europe to be responsible for its security. America has critical national security threats that will demand its focused attention.
No doubt these were frank, difficult words for the UDCG participants to hear, however long overdue. With that same candor, Hegseth conveyed the Trump Doctrine for Europe message. During a press conference following the NATO Ministerial gatherings, Hegseth challenged NATO to adopt what the US was steadfastly engaged in: reviving the warrior ethos, rebuilding our military, and re-establishing deterrence. Additionally, the defense secretary explained that Making NATO Great Again “begins with defense spending.” That includes “reviving the transatlantic defense industrial base, rapidly fielding emerging technologies, prioritizing readiness and lethality, and establishing real deterrence. Additionally, he adamantly made the point again that the US is not abandoning NATO as some in the press suggest.
Eisenhower Recognized NATO’s US Dependency
Wrapping up his prepared remarks, Hegseth invoked the words of President Dwight Eisenhower, who had expressed doubts that European allies were shouldering their share of the defense burden and, as Ike put it, were “making a sucker out of Uncle Sam.” The Trump administration wants NATO members to spend as much as 5% of the Gross Domestic Product on defense. Hegseth made the point that, like the 34th president, the current commander-in-chief believes deeply in the Alliance, “but make no mistake, President Trump will not allow anyone to turn Uncle Sam into Uncle Sucker.”
None of the attendees at the UDCG or the Ministerial should have been confused about where the Trump administration stands on America’s responsibilities in Europe and the shared obligation to bring peace to Ukraine following the Russian aggression. The US has its priorities squared away with securing its borders to defend the homeland and to confront China as the present military and economic threat.
The views expressed are those of the author and not of any other affiliate.
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