Tensions between the Trump Administration and its longtime allies in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) were on full display during the 2026 World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland in January and the 2026 Munich Security Conference, which concluded on Sunday, February 15.
During his WEF speech, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney warned that a "rupture" has occurred between the United States and his NATO allies. And similarly, one of retired U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling's main takeaways from the Munich gathering is that the U.S./Europe alliance is severely damaged.
In an article published by the conservative website The Bulwark on February 17, Herling — who served as commander of U.S. Army Europe under former President Barack Obama — laments that Trump is throwing away a valuable national security/military asset: Europe.
"The Trump Administration's two representatives at the Munich Security Conference, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Under Secretary of Defense Elbridge Colby, gave very different remarks, but the underlying substance was the same: This administration does not understand, does not value, and will not invest in America's European alliances," Hertling explains. "Although the two men struck different tones and used different words, the unified message was conveyed as much by what they said as by who they were and what they didn't say."
Hertling recalls that when he attended the 2012 Munich Security Conference as then-commander of U.S. Army Europe, the "American delegation reflected the bipartisan weight the United States once brought to the table."
"Sen. John McCain was there with other senators and representatives from both parties, as were then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, then-Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, and senior national security leaders from across the (Obama) Administration," Hertling notes. "Their messages differed in emphasis but were unified in tone: The United States viewed NATO not as a burden to be managed, but as a strategic advantage to be strengthened."
In 2026, however, that "strategic advantage," Hertling laments, is being thrown away by the Trump Administration.
"The U.S. military presence in Europe is often framed as a favor to allies," the former U.S. Army Europe commander argues. "In reality, it's one of the most advantageous force postures the United States maintains anywhere in the world — a relatively small footprint that delivers outsized strategic returns. From bases in Germany, Italy, Spain, Poland, the United Kingdom, and elsewhere, American forces sit an ocean closer to potential crises in the Middle East, North Africa, and Eurasia. In Germany alone, Ramstein Air Base serves as a global air mobility hub and power projection platform; Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, home to a critical Level III trauma center, anchors combat casualty care for multiple theaters as well as health care for all the U.S. embassies in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East…. The claim that America's European alliances are all charity isn't just wrong in the sense that we get nothing out of it. It's also wrong in the sense that we're just giving and our allies are just receiving."
