NATO without the U.S.: "Good Luck".

Tuesday, January 27, 2026

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte insisted Monday that Europe is incapable of defending itself without U.S. military support and would have to more than double current military spending targets to be able to do so. "If anyone thinks here ... that the European Union or Europe as a whole can defend itself without the U.S., keep on dreaming. You can't," Rutte told EU lawmakers in Brussels. Europe and the United States "need each other," he said.

Posted by boaz at 08:26 AM | 5 COMMENTS | permalink | Comment on This Entry |

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"NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte insisted Monday that Europe is incapable of defending itself without U.S. military support and would have to more than double current military spending targets to be able to do so"

Something of a contradiction there.

#1 | Posted by Zed at 2026-01-27 08:52 AM | Reply

Muriel Domenach, France's former ambassador to NATO, posted on X that "with all due respect to the NATO Secretary General, this is not: the right question ... the right answer: brandishing European weakness to secure the U.S. guarantee is an outdated approach and sends the wrong message to Russia."

Without mentioning Rutte specifically, French Armed Forces Minister Catherine Vautrin told French radio that "what we see today is the necessity of NATO's European pillar." The idea of making Europeans collectively stronger within the military alliance, first pitched by France a few years ago, is now endorsed by other countries including Germany.

MEP Nathalie Loiseau, a former French minister who now sits in the committee where Rutte made the controversial remarks, echoed Barrot's criticism: "It was a disgraceful moment. Rutte thinks that being rude with Europeans will please Trump. We don't need a Trump zealot. NATO needs to rebalance between US and European efforts."

#2 | Posted by sentinel at 2026-01-27 09:07 AM | Reply

Every coin has two sides. While it's good that Europe is moving towards taking a stronger role for its own security, this could potentially come back to haunt American in a few decades...

#3 | Posted by sentinel at 2026-01-27 09:09 AM | Reply

*America

Damn typoes.

#4 | Posted by sentinel at 2026-01-27 09:09 AM | Reply

Defend itself against who?

Who is the threat they are talking about?

Russia that can't even take over non-NATO Ukraine?

Maybe Serbia is going to rise up with its 150 man army?

The super power Algeria?

China is the only country with a comparable military but they are on the other side of the world and more intent on keep things stable to continue trading. They won't even invade Asian or African countries anymore.

The only other threat is the US itself...which if it decides to invade, NATO is meaningless anyway.

#5 | Posted by Sycophant at 2026-01-27 10:40 AM | Reply