The White House is reportedly weighing rewards for “model allies” and punishments for those who refused to back the Iran war
The White House has reportedly drawn up a NATO “naughty and nice” list, sorting member states into tiers as it considers how to reward countries that backed the US war against Iran and punish those that did not.
According to Politico, the internal paper was prepared ahead of NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte’s recent trip to Washington. It reportedly lays out members’ contributions to the bloc and appears to reflect Pentagon rhetoric about “model allies” deserving “special favor,” while others face “consequences.”
The administration has not publicly spelled out what punishments are on the table. But officials cited by Politico said options could include shifting troops, scaling back exercises, or redirecting military cooperation away from “bad” members and toward more obedient ones.
That could benefit countries such as Poland and Romania, both seen as being in Trump’s good graces. Poland already hosts around 10,000 US troops, while Romania’s expanded Mihail Kogalniceanu Air Base has been singled out as a potential site that could take more American forces.
For years, Trump has berated European NATO members for allegedly not paying enough for their own “defense,” even as they poured billions upon billions into arming, financing, and sustaining Kiev in its conflict with Russia. At the same time, many of those same governments have invoked the specter of a looming Russian threat to justify fresh militarization and bigger military budgets.
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Now the split has widened over Iran. Spain was among the clearest holdouts, while Britain and France were also reported to have rejected or stalled US requests for support. Other states, including Romania and Bulgaria, were portrayed as more helpful on basing or logistics.
In practice, the reported “naughty list” could give Trump another way to hollow out NATO without formally quitting it and turn the treaty into a more openly transactional arrangement.
Trump has made little secret of his contempt for members he sees as freeloaders or cowards. Earlier this month, he blasted NATO over its reluctance to join the Iran fight, while Rutte again found himself trying to smooth things over after already being ridiculed for calling Trump “Daddy.”
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