00:00NATO's Secretary General Mark Rutte went to the White House yesterday with a mission,
00:05convinced Donald Trump that Europe had stepped up during the Iran War.
00:10Trump wasn't convinced.
00:11In fact, he doubled down on his frustration with European allies, saying countries like
00:16Germany, France, Italy, Spain and even Britain had failed to properly back the United States
00:22during the conflict.
00:24So who's right?
00:25Did Europe leave America to fight alone or did it provide crucial support behind the
00:30scenes?
00:31On the surface, Trump's complaint has merit.
00:34No major European country joined the war directly, no large European troop deployments, no major
00:41naval contributions to frontline combat operations and governments across Europe repeatedly stressed
00:48that this was not a NATO mission.
00:50But behind the scenes, European support was far more substantial than the public debate
00:55suggests.
00:56The US relied heavily on bases in Germany and Britain, along with facilities across Italy,
01:02Portugal, Greece and France.
01:03Most European countries also granted overflight rights, allowing American aircraft to cross
01:09their airspace and carry out operations.
01:11In other words, Europe didn't join the fight, but it helped make the fight possible.
01:17That's why Russia says Europe showed up.
01:19And it's why Trump says Europe let America down.
01:23And that debate is just the latest strain on an alliance already under pressure.
01:27Like that.
01:30Thank you very much.
Comments