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Posted on 04/24/2026 5:33:48 AM PDT by RoosterRedux
An internal Pentagon email outlines options for the United States to punish NATO allies it believes failed to support U.S. operations in the war with Iran, including suspending Spain from the alliance and reviewing the U.S. position on Britain’s claim to the Falkland Islands, a U.S. official told Reuters.
The policy options are detailed in a note expressing frustration at some allies’ perceived reluctance or refusal to grant the United States access, basing and overflight rights - known as ABO - for the Iran war, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe the email.
The email stated that ABO is “just the absolute baseline for NATO,” according to the official, who added that the options were circulating at high levels in the Pentagon.
One option in the email envisions suspending “difficult” countries from important or prestigious positions at NATO, the official said.
President Donald Trump has harshly criticized NATO allies for not sending their navies to help open the Strait of Hormuz, which was closed to global shipping following the start of the air war on February 28.
He has also declared he is considering withdrawing from the alliance.
“Wouldn’t you if you were me?” Trump asked Reuters in an April 1 interview, in response to a question about whether the U.S. pulling out of NATO was a possibility.
But the email does not suggest that the United States do so, the official said. It also does not propose closing bases in Europe.
The official declined to say whether the options included a widely expected U.S. drawdown of some forces from Europe, however.
Asked for comment [...], Pentagon Press Secretary Kingsley Wilson responded: “As President Trump has said, despite everything that the United States has done for our NATO allies, they were not there for us.
(Excerpt) Read more at cnbc.com ...
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Childish to launch a war together with a non NATO country, at their request, with no notice to NATO, and then get indignant that they don’t join in.
If I understand correctly, certain NATO (ALLIES??) want our help & money, but don’t want us to use their bases. Is this correct?
There is no mechanism for the US to suspend Spain from NATO. Hegseth cronies are having another fever dream.
All we wanted to do was use the base - which we may for! - in the NATO countries in support of our operations. But they wouldn’t even go along with that. Spain is for all intents and purposes a beligieant in this war. Against us!
It’s all part of the plan, just watch and enjoy. You really seem nervous about something. These Euros have been bagging us for decades, time for a change.
We need to pull all of our troops and equipment out of Spain and Italy and France if we have any in the latter.
You're either misinformed, or being dishonest. Nobody is upset that they didn't participate. The problem is they went miles out of their way to be unhelpful. Not only did they say we could not use the bases we had there, they even denied us overflight. We would have been fine if they didn't have the resources to join in but deliberately trying to hamper us was an unfriendly act. THAT's the problem.
Indeed petulant to expect NATO to join in the day we start a war without giving them notice. It took them a year to decide to go into Bosnia.
That said - Denying us use of our bases in their countries and denying us use of their airspace reveals a strategic problem that cannot stand, with or without NATO. Time to move bases and close bases (and ship visits) to those countries.
Replace Rota with Lisbon (or Morocco, frankly, and put AFRICOM there).
Replace Germany and, Maybe Italy (though maybe keep Italy) with Poland, Hungary, Romania, Czech Republic, Greece. Replace England with Finland and Maybe Greenland/Scotland.
Oh yeah - and that Fiveyes use of our satellites by Molesworth - that gets a hard look. Launch your own satellite program, limeys! (they cant afford it).
Maybe replace England with Denmark - get real close to them - put a big base there - and then put naval and sub bases in our new European best friends territory in Greenland.
England, Spain, France and Maybe Italy - No bases, no US troops putting money in their economy, no ship visits. The front with russia has moved east anyway and we could use basing that reaches into the middle east without the complications of Incirlik as well as better AFRICOM answers than Germany.
Uhhh...
Dude...
They would not let us use OUR OWN bases located in their country.
They did not refuse to join in....
They were actively undermining our mission...
Let’s not use the pretty words when assessing this situation
At one time the United States had a whole series of coastal forts. They played a part in the defense of the country.
Those forts are no longer active. There is no longer any reason to fund them or man them.
Same goes for NATO.
Plus Spain and France didn’t allow overflights in ‘86 and France tried again in ‘91. Ungrateful bastards the euros are. Just ask a Brit, they think we suck but damnit we better help them and send money when they call. We’re tired of being their piggy bank and military. City of London is learing that now.
“Childish to launch a war together with a non NATO country, at their request, with no notice to NATO, and then get indignant that they don’t join in.”
It’s infantile and illogical to believe that notification of NATO would not have leaked the operation to Iran. That would result in more Americans can getting killed protecting European Oil. There are clearly two sides to this coin, and I pick the side that Protects Americans and American Service people. Besides, nobody really asked them to join it. They denied use of airspace and US bases that helped the US complete the mission. Europeans want our military to protect them and their oil supply, but don’t want to ‘help’ because of the political fallout from their ‘immigration’ policies. NATO is useless, and is nothing but a giant suck on the US taxpayers and US service people with nothing in return. Spain doesn’t even contribute
https://www.nato.int/content/dam/nato/webready/documents/finance/def-exp-2025-en.pdf
Spain invites muzloid reconquista and another Inquisition, making Espańa Judenfrei.
perhaps read the rest of my post.
Failed Britain has not rightful claim to the Falklands. Their colonies are long gone - they need to stick it where the sun don’t shine. They can’t defend them anyway, so Argentina . . . drill baby drill . . .
Somebody should tell them Iran is not in the North Atlantic.
There’s not joining in and then there’s you can’t fly through our air space and you can’t land your planes on NATO bases that you pay for in our country. See the difference there?
kick spain out ! levy tariffs!
maybe eventually the good Spanish people will wake up and get themselves a decent, moral government...and one that will stop and reverse the Islamic invasion of their country
since that latter effort took the Spanish people over 700 years to achieve the last time they invaded, you’d think that Spain would be one of the last countries to just roll over and die
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