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A general view of the round table during a meeting of the North Atlantic Council in Defense Ministers Session at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026. (AP Photo\/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)<\/p>\n
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth did not attend Thursday\u2019s gathering of defense ministers at NATO headquarters in Brussels. His no-show came after Secretary of State Marco Rubio skipped the last meeting<\/a> of NATO foreign ministers in December.<\/p>\n It\u2019s rare for members of a U.S. administration to miss a meeting of the organization\u2019s top decision-making body, the North Atlantic Council, at the level of ministers, let alone two meetings in a row. Under Secretary of Defense Elbridge Colby was sent in Hegseth\u2019s place.<\/p>\n \u201cSadly for him, he is missing a good party,\u201d Icelandic Foreign Minister \u00deorger\u00f0ur Katr\u00edn Gunnarsd\u00f3ttir told reporters. \u201cOf course, it\u2019s always better that the ministers attend here, but I would not describe it as a bad signal.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not disappointed,\u201d German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said. \u201cEach of us has a full agenda. And one time the American defense minister is here, and one time not, so it\u2019s his decision and his duties he has to fulfill.\u201d<\/p>\n How times have changed<\/p>\n When asked what NATO\u2019s purpose was in its infancy in 1949, NATO\u2019s first secretary-general, the British general and diplomat Lord Hastings Ismay, was reputed to have replied: \u201cTo keep the Americans in, the Russians out and the Germans down.\u201d<\/p>\n Nowadays, Germany is stepping up. After Russia invaded Ukraine four years ago, it vowed to spend$118 billion to modernize<\/a> its armed forces in coming years.<\/p>\n A big part of NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte\u2019s job is to keep the Americans in.<\/p>\n \u201cThey have to take care of the whole world. This is the United States,\u201d Rutte told reporters before chairing the meeting. \u201cI totally accept it, agree with it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThey have always consistently pleaded for Europe doing more, Canada doing more, taking more care of the defense of NATO territory, of course in conjunction with the United States,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n That means more European spending on conventional weapons and defense, while the U.S. guarantees NATO\u2019s nuclear deterrent.<\/p>\n But doubts linger, and surprises from the Trump administration cannot be ruled out. Allies still wonder whether more U.S. troops<\/a> will be withdrawn from Europe.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat for me is the most important is the no-surprise policy that has been agreed between the NATO secretary-general and the U.S.,\u201d Dutch Defense Minister Ruben Brekelmans said.<\/p>\n Stepping back<\/p>\n Publicly at least, the Trump administration is doing much less at NATO. A year ago, Hegseth warned that America\u2019s security priorities<\/a> lie elsewhere and that Europe would have to look after itself, and Ukraine in its battle against Russia\u2019s full-scale invasion.<\/p>\n Supplies of U.S. guns and money that were sent to Ukraine by the previous administration of President Joe Biden have dried up under Trump. European allies and Canada are obliged to buy weapons<\/a> from the United States to donate now.<\/p>\n Western backers of Ukraine were also meeting at NATO on Thursday to drum up more military support. A scheme proudly championed by the Pentagon under Biden, the Ukraine Defense Contact Group<\/a> is now chaired by the U.K. and Germany.<\/p>\n U.K. Defense Secretary John Healey announced that Britain would provide \u201can extra half a billion pounds ($682 million) in urgent air defense to Ukraine. This is Britain being a force for good in the world, building a new deal for European security within NATO.\u201d<\/p>\n Sweden also intends to fund the purchase of more American weapons. The Netherlands will send more flight simulators to help Ukrainian fighter pilots train to fly F-16 jets.<\/p>\n Arctic Sentry<\/p>\n The one \u201cdeliverable\u201d from Thursday\u2019s meeting was the announcement that NATO would launch Arctic Sentry<\/a>, its response to U.S. security concerns in the high north, and an attempt to dissuade Trump from trying to seize Greenland.<\/p>\n It\u2019s ostensibly aimed at countering Russian and Chinese activities or influence in the Arctic region.<\/p>\n But Arctic Sentry is essentially a rebranding exercise. National drills already underway in the region, like those run by Denmark and Norway, will be brought under the NATO umbrella and overseen by the organization\u2019s military chief.<\/p>\n It is not a long-term NATO operation or mission.<\/p>\n Denmark, France, Germany will take part in the \u201cmilitary activities\u201d happening under Arctic Sentry, but they have not said in what way. Finland and Sweden are likely to get involved. Belgium is considering what role it might play.<\/p>\n It remains unclear what role, if any, the United States will take.<\/p>\n \u201cIt can\u2019t just be more from the United States,\u201d U.S. Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker said ahead of Thursday\u2019s meeting. \u201cWe need capable allies that are ready and strong, that can bring assets to all of these areas of our collective security.\u201d<\/p>\n