The US is pressuring NATO to scale back many of its overseas operations. There is already pressure to end the mission in Iraq and to scale back the continent in Kosovo. The US is also pushing to prevent Ukraine and allies from the Indo-Pacific region from officially participating in the annual summit in Ankara in July.
Politico reports this, citing four NATO diplomats.
These efforts reflect the White Houseʼs desire to view NATO as a purely Euro-Atlantic defense pact and to cast aside decades of expansion toward crisis management, global partnerships, and values-based initiatives.
Under Washington’s initiative, NATO will reduce so-called out-of-area activities, which fall outside the Alliance’s core defense and deterrence missions. Politico sources say the effort has become known within the Alliance as a “return to factory settings”.
NATO mission in Iraq
NATO supports an advisory mission aimed at strengthening Iraqi authorities and preventing the return of the Islamic State group. The operation was established during US President Donald Trumpʼs first term in 2018 and has been expanded several times since 2021 at Baghdadʼs request.
Washington has asked allies to end the mission by September, two sources said. Separately, the United States also intends to withdraw about 2 500 troops from Iraq under a deal with the Iraqi government in 2024.
One source said that "most" allies agree that the mission in Iraq should be reduced, but over a longer period, while maintaining a smaller operation.
Troop reduction in Kosovo
The United States has also signaled that it wants to reduce the size of the NATO-led Kosovo Force (KFOR), a UN-mandated international peacekeeping mission that was established in 1999 after the Yugoslav wars and now has about 4,500 troops, four diplomats said.
No decision has been made to end any of these operations yet. All 32 NATO members must approve the start and end of the missions.
Without other allies
The US is also pressuring allies not to invite Ukraine and the allianceʼs four official partners in the Indo-Pacific region to official meetings at the July NATO summit in Ankara.
The sources added that countries can still invite to side events. They added that the US request is partly justified by the reduction in the number of summit meetings.
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