Pentagon quizzes NATO allies on political loyalty, documents reveal

Will the US allies be able to shift from dependency to strategic autonomy? | This is America

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.