The White House has prepared a kind of list of „obedient and disobedient“ countries in NATO, while the Trump administration is looking for ways to punish allies that refused to support the war with Iran. Among the countries that have cooperated with the US is Bulgaria, which „has quietly supported US logistics in the Middle East“.
This is stated in an analysis by „Politico“.
The work on this scheme, which was worked on before the visit of NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte to Washington this month, involves reviewing the contributions of member states to the alliance and arranging them into different categories, according to three European diplomats and a US official in the field of defense official familiar with the plan. It is yet another sign that President Donald Trump intends to follow through on his threats against allies who do not comply with his wishes. It is also another point of tension for an increasingly fractious alliance that has been battered by Trump’s attacks, from his push to annex Greenland to his warning of a full withdrawal from the pact.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth hinted at the idea as early as December. “Model allies who are doing their part, like Israel, South Korea, Poland, increasingly Germany, the Baltic states and others, will receive our special favor,” he said. “Allies that continue to fail to fulfill their role in collective defense will face consequences,” the secretary added.
One diplomat said the list seemed to reflect that logic. “The White "The House has a document on the obedient and the disobedient, so I guess the thinking is similar," he said.
According to Politico's interlocutors, the administration is keeping the details under wraps as it considers various options. Officials have given little clarity on what exactly the favors or punishments might be.
"They don't seem to have very specific ideas when it comes to punishing bad allies. Moving troops is one option, but isn't that basically punishing the United States itself?" said another European official, who, like the others, spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the diplomatic issue.
The White House has made its irritation with allies clear. "While the United States has always been there for our so-called allies, the countries we protect with thousands of troops were not there for us during Operation Epic Fury," said White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly, referring to the Pentagon's designation for the operation. "President Trump has made it clear what he thinks about this unfair dynamic, and as he said, the United States will remember."
NATO did not respond to a request for comment.
There are few other options for withdrawing U.S. troops from Europe, so any plan would likely involve moving them from one country to another. Even then, such a move could be costly and time-consuming.
It is unclear which countries fall into which category, or whether Rutte is even aware of the effort. But Romania and Poland could be among the biggest winners, as both remain in the president's good graces and would welcome more U.S. troops. The Polish government, one of NATO's biggest defense spenders, is already footing almost all of the cost of deploying 10,000 U.S. troops to its territory. And the recently expanded Mihail Kogalniceanu Air Base in Romania, which the country has allowed the United States to use for its air war against Iran, has room for more American forces. Hegseth initially used the term “exemplary ally” to refer to NATO partners that have increased their military spending in line with the alliance’s 5 percent goal, which Trump has pushed. Officials have also used the term in the National Defense Strategy released in January.
The U.S. Department of Defense said it “will prioritize cooperation and engagement with exemplary allies who are fulfilling their share of the responsibility for our collective defense.” “This will enable these allies to play a greater role in defending our shared interests, while strengthening the incentives for others to do the same,” the Pentagon said.
According to two European officials familiar with the plan, the concept could allow the United States to reduce military deployments, joint exercises or arms sales to perceived "bad" allies and redirect them to "good" ones. Hegseth has also used the term "model ally" in meetings with NATO countries, according to the third diplomat.
It would also give Trump more tools to differentiate between members that have supported U.S. efforts against Iran, such as ending the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and allowing the use of bases, and those that have not.
While Spain and allies such as Britain and France have either rejected or delayed U.S. requests for help, Romania and several smaller countries have allowed the United States to use their air bases. Bulgaria has also quietly provided logistical support to the US in the Middle East.
Spain already had problems with the Trump administration after opposing NATO's 5 percent defense spending target during the alliance's summit in The Hague last year. At the same time, officials have praised Baltic states such as Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, as well as Poland, for consistently being among the top spenders in the alliance.
“President Trump has rightly made it clear that he expects allies and partners to take greater responsibility and help protect this vital sea route in the Middle East,“ Elbridge Colby, the Pentagon's top policy planner, told NATO allies this month during a virtual meeting of defense ministers that Hegseth declined to attend.
But there is little precedent for taking such steps to punish allies, and such ideas are already facing resistance in Congress.
“It's not helpful when American leaders speak disparagingly of our alliances,“ Sen. Roger Wicker, a Mississippi Republican, said Tuesday during a hearing on US forces in the Indo-Pacific region. “We need to make clear the many political, strategic and moral benefits that the country derives from its alliances.“
Some former officials also doubt that the Trump administration has the capacity to manage another existential crisis for the alliance.
“Trump and his team are busy trying to dig themselves out of a quagmire of their own making,“ said Yoel Linnäinmäki, a former Finnish official who worked on the country's accession to NATO in 2023. “The administration probably does not have the capacity to open another hostile front with Europe while the war is ongoing.“
Source: dariknews.bg