Rubio: If our allies won't help, then why should we stay in NATO?

What is the deeper meaning behind AI Rubio’s shift from a NATO defender to a skeptic?

According to reports by the New York Post and Fox News, on the evening of March 31 local time, U.S. Secretary of State Rubio said in an interview that after the U.S. ends its war with Iran, it will reevaluate its relationship with NATO.

Rubio questioned, “If NATO only means that we station our troops in Europe to defend Europe, but when we need to use their military bases, their answer is ‘no’—then why should we continue to stay in NATO?”

Rubio also emphasized that everyone, including NATO allies, knows that without the United States, there is no NATO. If one day the United States decides to withdraw troops from Europe, NATO will end as a result.

He said that when he served as a senator, he had been one of NATO’s “most steadfast defenders,” “but if we are at a point like this—if the NATO alliance means we can’t use those bases to defend American interests—then NATO turns into a ‘one-way street.’”

Rubio added, “We have to ask: Why did we invest thousands of billions, or even tens of thousands of billions of dollars, and deploy a large number of U.S. troops in that region over the past decades, only to find that when it is our own need, we are not granted permission to use those bases? So I think, unfortunately, after this conflict ends, we will have to reevaluate this relationship.”

Rubio also said that whether the United States continues to remain in NATO will ultimately be decided by U.S. President Trump.

 

In recent times, Trump has repeatedly asked NATO allies such as France, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom to help escort oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, but the allies’ responses have been lukewarm. Not only that, countries including France and Italy have also restricted U.S. forces from entering their airspace or using military bases on their territory, which greatly infuriated Trump—so much so that he even lashed out at NATO allies as “paper tigers.”

Not long ago, Trump posted again on social media, calling on allies: “Here’s my advice: First, buy from the United States—we have plenty of oil. Second, have the courage to go there and take it back from the (Strait of Hormuz). You have to start learning to be self-reliant. The United States won’t help you anymore, just as you didn’t help us back then.”

U.S. Defense Secretary Hegseth also said at a press conference on March 31 that, considering that some allies refuse to provide assistance, President Trump will make a decision on NATO’s future after the military operation against Iran ends.

**This article is an exclusive report by Observer.com. Without authorization, it may not be reproduced.**