Pentagon official to brief NATO allies as review fuels questions

Senior European diplomats will seek to reassure the Pentagon’s policy chief on Thursday that they are stepping up on defence amid uncertainty about a U.S. review of forces in Europe and concern about Russia, officials told Reuters.



Washington announced a six-month review of U.S. troop deployments in Europe in June, as theU.S. administration pushes for Europe to take primary responsibility for the continent’s defence and after President Donald Trump vented his anger at Europeans for not doing more to assist the U.S. in the Iran

war.



Since Trump returned to office last year, NATO has been under unprecedented strain, with some members concerned that Washington might not be fully committed to an alliance that was formed in 1949 with the primary aim of countering the risk of a Soviet attack on western Europe.