US may relinquish control over NATO troops in Europe - report
Kyiv • UNN
The Trump administration is considering abandoning the role of commander of NATO troops in Europe. This could signal a US withdrawal from the alliance and reduce Washington's influence in Europe.
The administration of US President Donald Trump is considering abandoning the role of commander of NATO troops in Europe, NBC News reports, citing sources, UNN writes.
Details
"For almost 75 years, it has been clearly an American responsibility to have a four-star US general who will control all NATO military operations in Europe - a command that began with the then World War II hero and future President Dwight D. Eisenhower. But the Trump administration, according to two defense officials familiar with the planning and a Pentagon briefing reviewed by NBC News, is considering changing that," the publication writes.
The Pentagon is conducting a significant restructuring of the combat commands and headquarters of the US Armed Forces. And one of the plans under consideration, according to two defense officials, would include the US abandoning the role of Supreme Allied Commander Europe - known in military parlance as SACEUR. The general who currently holds this position, and is also the head of the US European Command, was the chief commander overseeing support for Ukraine in its war against Russia. It is unclear how long such a reorganization may take, and it may be changed by the time it is completed. Congress may also intervene, using the "power of the purse," if members oppose any aspect of the initiative.
Abandoning SACEUR would at least be a major symbolic shift in the balance of power in NATO, an alliance that has defined European security and peace since World War II.
"The United States abandoning the role of Supreme Allied Commander of NATO would be perceived in Europe as a significant signal of withdrawal from the alliance," retired Admiral James Stavridis, who served as SACEUR and head of European Command from 2009 to 2013, wrote in an email.
"This will be a political mistake of epic proportions, and once we give it up, they won't give it back," he wrote. "We will lose enormous influence in NATO, and it will rightly be seen as probably the first step towards a complete withdrawal from the Alliance".
The proposed restructuring comes amid the Trump administration's cuts in spending and personnel in the federal government. And President Donald Trump and US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth have made it clear that the new administration wants European partners to take more responsibility for the defense of Europe. If the US does abandon SACEUR, other NATO countries will likely have to choose among themselves which country will nominate the commander.
The timing for SACEUR, if it happens, is not yet determined. Army General Chris Cavoli, the current SACEUR, is on a three-year assignment that is scheduled to end this summer.
Five of the army's 11 combat commands could be merged as part of the plan under discussion, two defense officials familiar with the planning said.
The sweeping restructuring plan under consideration may also include two potential changes previously reported by NBC News: merging US European Command and US African Command into a single command based in Stuttgart, Germany, and closing US Southern Command headquarters in Florida with the goal of merging it with US Northern Command.
According to officials familiar with the planning, merging the commands would allow the military to save money by reducing staff with overlapping responsibilities. If all the changes under consideration are implemented, up to $270 million could be saved in the first year, according to a Pentagon briefing reviewed by NBC News. This savings would amount to approximately 0.03% of the Department of Defense's annual budget of $850 billion.
The alleged steps in Europe could reduce American influence there, as the US could lose some access to key naval and air bases in Italy, Germany, Poland and Spain, Hodges said.
If the Pentagon decides to merge AFRICOM and EUCOM into a single command, it would be part of the justification for eliminating the SACEUR role, two US defense officials said, because overseeing such a large territory is already a big enough job for one person, without that person also overseeing NATO military operations.
