Secretary of State Marco Rubio made an appearance on Fox News host Sean Hannity’s program where he discussed how unhelpful NATO nations in Europe have been during the U.S. conflict with Iran, denying the use of bases and airspace necessary to successfully completing objectives related to Operation Epic Fury and preventing the oppressive Islamic regime from possessing nuclear weapons.
Rubio stated that the lack of support has become such a problem that once the war effort in Iran is complete, President Donald Trump would need to re-evaluate the country’s relationship with NATO. Hannity then asked the secretary of state if the alliance with NATO was at risk, especially if the U.S. cannot depend on them for help when its needed.
“Sean, I’ve been one of the strongest defenders of NATO during my time as a United States senator because I found great value in it. And it wasn’t just about defending Europe. I said it also allowed us to have military bases in Europe that allowed us to project power into different parts of the world when our national security was threatened,” Rubio replied, according to a transcript of the interview.
“If now we have reached a point where the NATO Alliance means that we can’t use those bases, that in fact – that we can no longer use those bases to defend America’s interests, then NATO is a one-way street; then NATO is simply about us having troops in Europe to defend Europe, but when we need their help – not their help – we’re not asking them to conduct airstrikes,” Rubio continued.
Rubio then questioned why the United States is in NATO if they are not going to allow us to use their bases, telling Hannity, “When we need them to allow us to use their military bases, their answer is no? Then why are we in NATO? You have to ask that question: Why do we have billions and billions of dollars, hundreds of billions of dollars, over the years trillions of dollars, and all these American forces stationed in the region if we can only use them, we can – when in our time of need we’re not going to be allowed to use those bases?”
The secretary of state then said that America would need to re-evaluate its involvement in NATO once the war in Iran was completed and that ultimately, the decision will lie with President Trump. “So I think there is no doubt, unfortunately, after this conflict is concluded we are going to have to re-examine that relationship. We’re going to have to re-examine the value of NATO and that Alliance for our country.”
“Ultimately, that’s a decision for the President to make, and he’ll have to make it. We’re going to finish the job here. As I said, we are very, very close to achieving our objectives on all of these things that I’ve outlined,” Rubio explained, going on to add, “But I do think, unfortunately, we are going to have to re-examine whether or not this Alliance that has served this country well for a while is still serving that purpose, or is it now become a one-way street where America is simply in a position to defend Europe, but when we need the help of our Allies, they’re going to deny us basing rights and they’re going to deny us overflight.”
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“I think these are very legitimate questions that we need to be asking, and these are going to have be very carefully examined after this conflict is over,” he reiterated. Fox host Sean Hannity then noted that the United States is the one footing most of the bill for NATO, stating that the U.S. pays two-thirds of its budget at nearly a trillion dollars a year.
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