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Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that Washington is questioning its involvement in the North Atlantic Alliance after some members of the bloc refused to allow the US to use their bases to attack Iran.
“One of the reasons I’ve been a strong supporter of our presence in NATO is because it allows us these basing rights that allow us to project power,” he told reporters on Thursday. “But if you are not going to be allowed the use of bases by these countries, then it puts into question the entire alliance.”
The war against Iran has caused a rift in the NATO bloc. European members of the alliance say Washington did not inform them that it planned to start a new war in the Middle East.
After President Donald Trump failed to secure a quick victory in the conflict, Washington began pressuring Europe to become more involved. NATO members refused to send their ships to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, and some countries blocked the US from using their military bases to conduct operations against Iran.
On Wednesday, Trump told NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte that while the US did not need help from Europe, he wished they had offered. “We didn’t need help on this at all. We demolished them in literally the first week,” Trump said. That’s when the president said, “But it would have been nice if they would have said, ‘We’d like to help.’ We didn’t even need it, but it would have been nice if they said that.”
Rutte attempted to push back against Trump’s assessment, but was shut down by the President. “I know there have been debates about whether your allies in Europe were with you enough. I just want to say one thing,” Rutte said.
“They weren’t,” Trump interjected. Rutte continued, “I know you think that [and] your irritation about that, but when you look at the numbers, 4,000-5,000 US planes [took] off from bases in Europe in the six weeks this war took place.”
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