The Pentagon has handed NATO allies of the United States a long list of questions about whether they are adhering to President Donald Trump’s vision for the transatlantic alliance, according to documents obtained exclusively by Al Jazeera. The questionnaire asks pointedly whether the allies have been “publicly supportive of US foreign policy priorities”. Another bullet point poses the query, “Has the country shown alignment with the US approach to [be] ‘strong, clear, and quiet?'” a reference to a phrase used by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in his address at the Shangri-La Dialogue in May.
The markings on the document and the phrasing suggest the questions are meant to guide interactions between US officials and their NATO counterparts during an ongoing six-month Pentagon review of American forces in Europe. The three-page document, titled “Questions for NATO Allies & Other Key Stakeholders”, was obtained from an official who received it. Bloomberg News first reported on parts of the questionnaire.
The most overtly political questions come at the end. One question probes allies about whether they have placed restrictions on US access to bases and military flights over their countries, an issue that has become a source of friction amid the US-Israel war on Iran. Several European countries imposed such restrictions after the start of the war on February 28.
Experts say the document reflects a growing effort under Trump to involve US allies in the Iran war, even if the conflict falls outside the purview of NATO’s collective defence pact. NATO has nothing to do with the Middle East.” The questionnaire asks whether allies have endorsed the Trump administration’s “NATO 3.0” concept, which calls for European allies to take on more responsibility for their own defence with “more limited US support”. Other lines echo Trump’s demands that the allies spend more on defence and contribute more to NATO’s command and makeup of forces.
Certain countries have already run afoul of the demands the questionnaire refers to. Trump, for instance, has repeatedly berated Spain over its decision to seek an exemption from a 2025 agreement among NATO allies to raise their military spending to 5 percent of their gross domestic products (GDPs). Back in March, Spain also closed its airspace to US planes and refused to let the US use bases for attacks against Iran.
Trump responded by threatening to cut trade with Madrid. A senior European official, speaking on condition of anonymity, noted that the questionnaire “doesn’t explicitly condition US military presence on political loyalty”. But, the official added, it does reflect “the Pentagon’s desire to develop the case for specific, almost vindictive force presence reductions”.
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