NATO foreign ministers meet at alliance headquarters in Brussels on Dec. 3, 2025. The Defense Department’s policy chief, Elbridge Colby, will be on hand this week to inform allies about future U.S. military plans in Europe. (NATO)
STUTTGART, Germany — The Pentagon’s top strategist is headed to NATO headquarters later this week where he will inform allies about future U.S. military plans in Europe, the top American official at NATO said Monday.
Defense Department policy chief Elbridge Colby will attend the alliance’s ministerial Thursday in lieu of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who is skipping the event.
U.S. Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker called Colby the “perfect person to talk about the defense strategy in depth and how the U.S. lays down in Europe right now” and “about capabilities that may need to be ultimately transitioned out of Europe.”
Whitaker’s comments came during a forum in Munich, where global security leaders are headed on Friday for three days of high-level security discussions. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will lead the American delegation at the Munich Security Conference.
In Europe, there has been much anticipation about the Pentagon’s plans. Colby, who has long been an advocate for shifting some military capabilities out of Europe, has frequently made the case that allies must carry the bulk of the security burden on the Continent so the U.S. can dedicate more resources to other regions.
Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby, left, participates in a bilateral exchange at the Pentagon on June 6, 2025. Colby is speaking with NATO leaders next week about future U.S. military plans in Europe, U.S. Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker said Monday. (Kashif Basharat/Defense Department)
So far, however, no major announcements have been made on future U.S. force levels in Europe.
The meetings at NATO headquarters and the subsequent annual gathering in Munich come at a time of anxiety in parts of Europe about American military commitments.
On Monday, officials with the Munich Security Conference unveiled their lengthy annual report and theme for this year’s conference, dubbed “Under Destruction.”
“The world has entered a period of wrecking-ball politics,” the report states. “Sweeping destruction — rather than careful reforms and policy corrections — is the order of the day.”
The post-Cold War order, largely organized, upheld and enforced by the United States, is now “under destruction,” the report asserts.
“For decades, Europe thrived under an American security umbrella that allowed it to prioritize integration and prosperity over hard power. That era has ended,” the report says.
It goes on to cite growing doubts in Europe about U.S. commitment to NATO. For example, 66% of Germans polled say the United States has become a less reliable NATO ally over the last six months, according to new MSC polling released Monday in tandem with its report.
Whitaker, however, pushed back against the report’s overall narrative that the U.S. is upending the world order.
“I completely reject everything I just heard,” Whitaker told the audience.
In the case of NATO, Whitaker said President Donald Trump remains committed to the alliance. Trump’s demand that members increase their individual defense spending is about making the military pact stronger, he said.
“We are not trying to dismantle NATO,” he added.
Whitaker described the U.S. approach as tough love in a family and said Europe needs to outgrow its military dependency.
“When your kids are young, they’re dependent on you. But eventually you expect them to get a job,” Whitaker said. “And so to me, that’s where we are. We still love them. You’re still allies.”
He credited allies for agreeing to step up their investments in their respective militaries but also said the U.S. wants to see follow through on turning those expenditures into hard power.
“One of the things that I’ve noticed in my time here in Europe is there is a lot of discussion and not a lot of action,” he said.
But Whitaker singled out Germany, a long-time laggard on defense spending, for turning things around.
“Now, to be fair, the Germans very much are about action,” Whitaker said. “Your other allies and our other allies are not always about action. They’re more about words.”
