The US President Donald Trump Presidential Administration, as part of the plans for the restructuring of the Ministry of Defense (Pentagon), is considering the possibility of abandoning the role of the Supreme Commander -in -Chief of NATO forces in Europe (SACEUR), which was led by American generals for almost 75 years,
.
According to NBC News, based on the statements of the former SACEUR commander James Stavridis and the former commander of the US European Command (Eucom) Ben Khojes, new restructuring plans were discussed in the Pentagon.
Stavridis and Hodges suggested that the Trump administration is considering the possibility of abandoning the role of SACEUR as part of the Pentagon’s plans for the restructuring of army commands and headquarters.
Retired Admiral Stavridis, who served Saceur from 2009 to 2013, emphasized that such a step of the Trump administration will be perceived in Europe as a sign that the United States departs from the North Atlantic Alliance.
– Loss of influence in NATO
According to Stavridis, in the event of a refusal from the SACEUR post, the Allies in Europe will no longer trust this post of the United States: “The United States may lose a huge impact in NATO. This will probably be considered as the first step to the full exit of the alliance.”
. ”
Stavridis and Hodges also noted that among the plans for restructuring, the possibility of merging 5 of 11 American commands is considered.
Having stated that the African command (Africom) and the European command (Eucom) can be united, the former commanders noted that only a single commander responsible for such a large territory will be considered as an excuse for departure from the post Saceur.
Hodges, in turn, stated that these merger plans are related to the reduction of the budget, and not with the military strategy.
He predicted that the United States as a result of this can reduce its influence in Europe. Washington can thus lose “some” access to important air and naval bases in Italy, Germany, Poland and Spain.
Pentagon has not yet made any statements about this.
Saceur mission has been entrusted to American generals for almost 75 years.