Trump admin considers giving up NATO command that has been exclusively American since Eisenhower [View all]
Source: NBC News
Mar. 18, 2025, 5:18 PM EDT
For nearly 75 years, it has been a distinctly American responsibility to have a four-star U.S. general oversee all NATO military operations in Europe — a command that began with 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 Pentagon is undertaking a significant restructuring of the U.S. military’s combatant commands and headquarters. And one of the plans under consideration, the two defense officials said, would involve the U.S. giving up the role of NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Europe — known within military parlance as the SACEUR. The general now in this role, who also serves as the head of U.S. European Command, has been the primary commander overseeing support to Ukraine in its war against Russia.
It is not clear how long such a reorganization could take, and it could by modified by the time it is complete. Congress could also weigh in, using the power of the purse should members oppose any aspect of the initiative. Giving up SACEUR would, if nothing else, be a major symbolic shift in the balance of power in NATO, the alliance that has defined European security and peace since World War II.
“For the United States to give up the role of supreme allied commander of NATO would be seen in Europe as a significant signal of walking away from the alliance,” retired Adm. James Stavridis, who served as SACEUR and head of European Command from 2009 to 2013, said in an email.
Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/trump-admin-considers-giving-nato-command-exclusively-american-eisenho-rcna196503
Where are all those neocons? Still throwing barbs at "the libs"?
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