- Retired U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling, former commander of U.S. Army Europe under President Barack Obama, warns that the Trump Administration is damaging the US-Europe alliance, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Under Secretary of Defense Elbridge Colby delivering contradictory remarks at the 2026 Munich Security Conference.
- The US military presence in Europe, with bases in Germany, Italy, Spain, Poland, and the UK, provides "outsized strategic returns" and serves as a critical force posture, according to Hertling, who cites Ramstein Air Base and Landstuhl Regional Medical Center as key examples of the alliance's benefits.
- Hertling recalls the 2012 Munich Security Conference, where a bipartisan US delegation, including Sen. John McCain and then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, demonstrated a unified commitment to strengthening NATO, in stark contrast to the current administration's approach, which he believes is "throwing away" a valuable national security asset.
EPSTEIN FILES NOTE
Hillary Clinton had multiple contact numbers in Epstein's black book.
