Overview
- The Pentagon released its National Defense Strategy late Friday, saying allies in regions beyond the Indo‑Pacific must take primary responsibility for their own defense with only decisive but more limited U.S. support.
- The plan centers on protecting U.S. territory and deterring China, and it highlights securing access to key sites including Greenland, the Panama Canal and the Gulf of Mexico, with references to missile‑defense options such as a proposed “Golden Dome” in Greenland.
- Russia is described as a persistent yet “manageable” threat to eastern NATO members, and the document signals an adjustment of U.S. force posture in Europe tied to allied capabilities.
- President Trump’s Fox News remarks downplaying NATO allies’ role in Afghanistan prompted sharp rebukes from UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Germany’s defense minister Boris Pistorius and Prince Harry, who called for respect for allied sacrifices.
- Greenland’s government issued an emergency handbook advising residents to be self‑sufficient for five days as local shops report a run on supplies, while analysts say the U.S. shift is reshaping Europe’s role and the backdrop to Ukraine talks in Abu Dhabi.