What happened

Donald Trump has argued that the United States supplies most of NATO’s resources and leadership while allies contribute less. The note also points to friction over operations linked to Iran, including allied refusal of base access and restrictions on aircraft overflight.

Reporting indicated that the United States planned to reduce certain NATO-linked air and naval assets for Europe. That raised European concerns about the reliability of collective defence under Article 5.

Background and earlier position

NATO was created as a collective-defence alliance, but decades of United States military operations made Europe dependent on American bases, logistics, and support. That history weakens any simple claim that NATO has only been a one-way arrangement.