The secretary of state questioned the commitment of countries in the NATO alliance after several denied recent requests for help by the U.S..
wonders what the point of the United States remaining in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization is if countries in the alliance won’t help the United States when needed.
Rubio made the comments on Wednesday in an interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity aboard Air Force One en route to the summit incountries refused to grant the U.S. permission to use its air bases for operations in the war with Iran. Rubio was miffed with those countries’ decision. Hannity in the interview.
“And one of the reasons why I supported NATO was because it gave us basing rights. It allowed us to have bases in Europe that we could use in a contingency like something in the Middle East where you could have planes flying from some country in Europe and actually protecting our national interest in the Middle East, as an example, or in Africa.
” “And so when you have NATO partners denying you the use of those bases – when the primary reason why NATO is good for America is now being denied to us by Spain, as an example – then what’s the purpose of the Alliance? ’ RubioSome NATO countries denied U.S requests for assistance in its war with Iran, ranging from prohibiting the U.S. from using air bases and airspace.
Italy said the U.S. couldn’t use Sigonella Naval Air Station in Sicily for aircraft that were going to be used in military operations in Iran. Other countries, such as Spain, said the U.S. couldn’t use its bases or airspace for aircraft being used in Operation Epic Fury. The lack of cooperation has further increased tension between the U.S. and the alliance.
Rubio, however, did make sure to credit several NATO countries that were helpful to the U.S., assisting with requests in some instances “before we even asked. ” He highlighted Portugal’s efforts in his remarks to Hannity, while also mentioning Bulgaria, Poland, and Romania in a positive light.
“Poland. So there are countries – Romania, Bulgaria,” Rubio added before criticizing those countries that refused to help the U.S. and questioning whether the U.S. should remain in NATO after recent events.
“Others like Spain have been atrocious, just horrifying,” Rubio said. “So I do think there are some very legitimate questions to ask about NATO, and that is: What is the purpose of being in an alliance whose benefit to us is these basing rights if, in a time of conflict like the one we’ve had with Iran, they can deny us the use of those bases? ” “So why are we there for?
Only to protect them but not to further our national interest? ” Rubio asked.
“This is a very legitimate question that we need to address. ” Trump struggles to shake ballroom backlash: ‘We don’t have the money’Faculty political bias is even more widespread than we thought
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