The Pentagon's threat to suspend Spain from NATO is legally meaningless — NATO has no suspension mechanism, full stop. Reuters couldn't even find a legal basis for it, and Spain was right to dismiss it outright. Thirty governments wasted a Friday treating a legally hollow leak like a real diplomatic crisis, which is exactly what this administration wants.
Four decades of European allies banking on American security while sitting out American operations is coming to an end. Putting real consequences on the table — from Spain's NATO standing to a Falklands reassessment — is long overdue. The era of consequence-free alliance membership is finished, and allies who won't share the burden shouldn't expect a free ride.
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