NATO is in disarray after the US announces that its security priorities lie elsewhere

U.S: IN just one speech by U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth this week, the most powerful member of NATO has thrown the world’s biggest military alliance into disarray, raising troubling questions about America’s commitment to European security.

Hegseth told almost 50 of Ukraine ’s Western backers on Wednesday that he had joined their meeting “to directly and unambiguously express that stark strategic realities prevent the United States of America from being primarily focused on the security of Europe.”

“The United States faces consequential threats to our homeland. We must  and we are  focusing on security of our own borders,” he said.

Reading the riot act to U.S. allies, Hegseth said that Ukraine will not get all its territory back from Russia and will not be allowed to join NATO, which would provide the ultimate security guarantee to ensure that Russian President Vladimir Putin never attacks it again.

He insisted NATO will not be involved in any future force that might be required to police the peace in Ukraine.

European and other nations will, but the Europeans will have to pay for it. No American troops would take part in such an operation, he warned.

Beyond that, Hegseth said that NATO will not come to the rescue of any European nation involved in that force if it is attacked by Russia.

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It’s unclear what role the U.S. would play, if any, although Russia is sure to test the force’s resolve if America does not provide backup.

French Defense Minister Sébastien Lecornu said that NATO faces “a real moment of truth.”

“To say that it’s the biggest and most robust alliance in history is true, historically speaking. But the real question is will that still be the case in 10 or 15 years,” he said.

What is NATO?

Founded in 1949, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization was formed by 12 nations to counter the threat to European security posed by the Soviet Union during the Cold War. Dealing with Moscow is in its DNA. Keeping the peace outside the Euro-Atlantic area is not.

NATO’s ranks have grown since the Washington Treaty was signed 75 years ago to 32 countries after Sweden joined last year, worried by an increasingly aggressive Russia.

NATO’s collective security guarantee  Article 5 of the treaty underpins its credibility.

It’s a political commitment by all member countries to come to the aid of any member whose sovereignty or territory might be under attack. Hegseth has now raised doubts about the U.S. commitment to that pledge, although he did say that his country is not planning to leave the alliance.

NATO’s doors are open to any European country that wants to join and can meet the requirements and obligations. Importantly, NATO takes its decisions by consensus, so every member has a veto.

This week, Hegseth took Ukraine’s candidacy off the table.