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\n…France surrenders.<\/p>\n
\n…France surrenders.<\/p>\n
By Rudy Ruitenberg<\/strong><\/p>\n PARIS \u2014 Europeans are \u201cdreaming\u201d if they think the continent can defend itself without the United States, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said in a meeting with members of the European Parliament on Monday, citing the costs of going it alone and the need to build up a nuclear capability.<\/p>\n \u201cIf anyone thinks here that the European Union or Europe as a whole can defend itself without the U.S., keep on dreaming,\u201d Rutte said. \u201cYou can\u2019t. We can\u2019t. We need each other.\u201d<\/p>\n Rutte\u2019s remarks come as Europe questions whether the U.S. is still a reliable ally following tariff threats by President Donald Trump against NATO allies over Greenland and a national defense strategy prioritizing homeland defense and the Western Hemisphere. Last year\u2019s U.S. National Security Strategy called on Europe to take primary responsibility for its own defense.<\/p>\n The NATO chief prompted pushback from France, the European Union\u2019s only nuclear power, with Foreign Minister Jean-No\u00ebl Barrot saying Europeans need to take their own security in hand through a European pillar within NATO.<\/p>\n Several security policy analysts said Europe has no choice, because the U.S. can no longer be trusted to come to its aid.<\/p>\n \u201cNo, dear Mark Rutte. Europeans can and must take charge of their own security,\u201d Barrot said in a post on X. \u201cEven the United States agrees. This is the European pillar of NATO.\u201d<\/p>\n European Defence Commissioner Andrius Kubilius earlier this month called on countries to consider how they would create a European pillar in NATO if the U.S. does shift from Europe, and what would replace the 100,000-strong American standing military force on the continent.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n