But the modest increases were unlikely to shield the alliance from the White House’s ire.
By Michael Birnbaum Michael Birnbaum Brussels bureau chief covering Europe Email Bio Follow March 14 at 12:26 PM BRUSSELS — NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Thursday that alliance members increased defense spending in 2018 for the fourth year in a row, highlighting a slow turnaround amid White House criticism that allies are overly reliant on U.S. military power.
“At a time when some are questioning the strength of the transatlantic bond, we are actually doing more together in more ways and in more places than ever before,” Stoltenberg said.Trump has hammered NATO allies for their lagging spending, recently raising in private conversations about an idea to charge countries for the cost of U.S. troop deployment on their soil, plus 50 percent.
Even if the U.S. president appears to harbor deep doubts about the value of the alliance, his own Cabinet officials and U.S. lawmakers have tried to reassure allies that NATO retains bipartisan support in Washington. Earlier this week, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell issued a rare invitation to Stoltenberg to address a joint session of Congress when he is Washington next month to celebrate NATO’s 70th anniversary.
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