FOCUS – U.S. Urges Europe and Canada to Take Responsibility for Conventional Defense

WASHINGTON, September 15 /ATSH-AA/ – The United States is pressing European allies and Canada to take the lead on conventional defense in Europe, seeking to free up American military power for potential challenges in the Pacific, U.S. Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker said today.

“This will free up the United States to project power globally and to deal with things like the Pacific situations we may face in the future,” Whitaker told the American television network Fox Business.

Whitaker explained that “Washington wants strong and capable allies we can rely on,” arguing that European partners hollowed out their capacities after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, while American taxpayers bore the burden.

He acknowledged that while partners are growing, progress is not happening fast enough.

The push aligns with a broader reorganization by U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration to shift military resources from European ground defense toward deterring China under the 2026 U.S. National Defense Strategy.

Under this framework, Washington expects wealthy European capitals to provide frontline conventional forces while the Pentagon retains nuclear deterrence and reinforcement options.

The diplomatic initiative builds on calls made in February 2025 by U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, urging allies to take over continental security.

The Pentagon then formalized the policy in July by launching a six-month review to reassess troop deployments across the continent.