In an interview on FOX News Channel’s “Hannity,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio slammed NATO allies for denying the U.S. access to military bases during the Iran conflict, arguing the alliance has become a “one-way street” with America defending Europe while allies won’t support U.S. interests. <\/p>\n
SEAN HANNITY, FOX NEWS HOST: Let me ask you about NATO. You said that our NATO allies have been disappointing specifically. I know you’re talking about Spain, Great Britain, France, even Italy now. And that after all of this is done, we will re-examine this relationship. And especially when it comes to we pay two-thirds of the freight when it comes to NATO defense. And if it’s just, quote, about us defending Europe, you said, you know, at this point, how do we call that? And we can’t have our landing rights in European nations, our allies, at a time when we need them. What good is that alliance? And is the NATO alliance at risk? SECRETARY OF STATE MARCO RUBIO: Sean, I’ve been one of the strongest defenders of NATO during my time as a United States senator because I found great value in it. And it wasn’t just about defending Europe. I said it also allowed us to have military bases in Europe that allowed us to project power into different parts of the world when our national security was threatened. If now we have reached a point where the NATO alliance means that we can’t use those bases, that in fact that we can no longer use those bases to defend America’s interests, then NATO is a one-way street. Then NATO is simply about us having troops in Europe to defend Europe. But when we need their help, not their help, we’re not asking them to conduct airstrikes. When we need them to allow us to use their military bases, their answer is no. Then why are we in NATO? You have to ask that question. Why do we have billions and billions of dollars, hundreds of billions of dollars over the years, trillions of dollars, and all these American forces stationed in the region? If we can only use them, in our time of need, we’re not going to be allowed to use those bases. So I think there’s no doubt, unfortunately, after this conflict is concluded, we are going to have to re-examine that relationship. We’re going to have to re-examine the value of NATO and that alliance for our country. Ultimately, that’s a decision for the president to make, and he’ll have to make it. We’re going to finish the job here. As I said, we’re very, very close to achieving our objectives on all of these things that I’ve outlined. But I do think, unfortunately, we are going to have to re-examine whether or not this alliance that has served this country well for a while is still serving that purpose. Or is it now become a one-way street where America is simply in a position to defend Europe, but when we need the help of our allies, they’re going to deny us basing rights and they’re going to deny us overflight? I think these are very legitimate questions that we need to be asking, and these are going to have to be very carefully examined after this conflict is over.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n