Sara Jacobs Asks DoD Official Point Blank: ‘Was The European Union Formed To Hurt America?’

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During a House Armed Services Committee hearing held before the congressional recess, Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-CA) questioned Defense Assistant Secretary Katherine Thompson about the European Union.

Transcript

00:00Chairman.

00:01Thank the gentleman.

00:02Excellent line of questions.

00:04Gentle lady from California, Ms. Jacobs.

00:06Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

00:08Ms. Thompson, do you believe the European Union was formed to hurt America?

00:12I do not.

00:14Okay.

00:15I ask because the President publicly said yesterday that the European Union was formed

00:19in order to screw the United States, and even floated the idea of using military force to

00:23take Greenland from Denmark, a NATO ally, because we, quote, need it for national security.

00:29Those kinds of statements suggest a U.S. stance that our European allies and institutions

00:33are adversaries or fair game for coercion.

00:36In your view, do such positions reflect a coherent U.S. strategy toward Europe?

00:41Thank you for the question, Congressman.

00:43What I would say is, as far as our approach to our allies and partners, is one first and

00:48foremost of honesty.

00:49We want to be honest with our partners, and we also want to be honest about the fact that

00:52they need to step up.

00:53And that's what I was emphasizing in my testimony when I referenced the administration's priority

00:57to bring European and Canadian allies within NATO to 5 percent, and we've already seen

01:02great strides in that process, and then also have our European allies lead out, particularly

01:07on the future of security assistance to Ukraine.

01:10And I would also underscore that Denmark and our bilateral relationship with Denmark is certainly

01:16a part of that equation.

01:17And we want to have a robust security relationship there, particularly for the reasons that you

01:21identify as far as Greenland being critical to homeland defense.

01:24And we would share that view.

01:27Okay, great.

01:28Well, it's good to know that our approach is about honesty.

01:30I guess I'm glad the president publicly honestly said what he thinks about our European allies.

01:37Ms. Thompson, are you aware that Europe pays for 84 percent of NATO's infrastructure at U.S.

01:42bases, and that Poland is spending over $300 million annually to support U.S. troops directly?

01:47Ms. I am certainly aware of Europe's contributions to NATO, for at least on the defense side.

01:53I know there's different streams of funding for defense contributions, or for NATO contributions

01:58on the state side as well.

01:59Ms. Okay.

02:00And so how do you square that with calling them free riders?

02:02Ms. So I think the commentary that I made and then certainly that the administration

02:07has made really stems from this chronic underspending of being under the 2 percent threshold.

02:13The Wales pledge in 2014 was made in a security environment that was arguably a lot more secure

02:17than the security environment that we face today, certainly from the U.S., the adversaries

02:21that the U.S. is facing.

02:23And I think from that perspective, there's rightly placed frustration in wanting our European

02:27allies to not only meet the spending commitment that they made in 2014, but also live up to

02:33the overarching Article III pledge of contributing to the collective security of the alliance,

02:38which includes defense spending.

02:40And I would also argue that the security environment that we face today, as bipartisan officials

02:45have recognized across administrations, 2 percent as a threshold for spending is no longer

02:50sufficient to meet the demands of the security environment, which is exactly why President

02:54Trump has set the target he set.

02:56And it's really, really encouraging, I have to say, for many of our allies to now be over

03:00the 2 percent threshold.

03:01We want to see those timelines get pulled to the left even further and to see them make

03:06further progress.

03:07And I would also just take the opportunity to highlight the Eastern allies who are on

03:11track to meet 5 percent very, very soon.

03:14And General Cavoli, from a military standpoint, what is the impact on our operations and partnerships

03:21when our allies hear American leaders suggest that the EU was formed to screw us or to entertain

03:27ideas of invading an allies' territory or for calling them free riders when they are contributing

03:33a lot to supporting our troops?

03:35How does this affect trust and cohesion among our allies that we depend on for our collective

03:38security?

03:39Ma'am, thanks for the question.

03:42Clearly it strays well out of my lane.

03:45But I talk to all of the chiefs of defense in Europe all the time.

03:51And our military-to-military relationships remain quite strong and are very solid, ma'am.

03:57Have President Trump's comments come up in any of your conversations with other military

04:02leaders?

04:03Rarely.

04:04But have they, in the context of Europe, in this being formed to screw them or what the

04:11president is trying to do in Greenland?

04:13Ma'am, it's rare enough that I'm searching to be sure to give you a complete and honest

04:21answer.

04:22I can't remember an instance of that off the top of my head.

04:28You know, military guys, we really try to stay carefully to the military construct and

04:33to the military lane because it's not our job in any of the nations in NATO.

04:42So I can't think of an example off the top of my head.

04:44If I do think of one, I'll be sure to tell you.

04:47Mr. Chairman, I yield back.

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Transcript

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