Ex-Pentagon Official Urges US to Squeeze UK on 3% Defense Goal as Falklands Neutrality Holds
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Aug 30
Ex-Pentagon Official Urges US to Squeeze UK on 3% Defense Goal as Falklands Neutrality Holds
2 articles · Updated · Fox News · Aug 30
Summary
Morgan Murphy, a former Pentagon official, said Washington should apply heavy diplomatic pressure on London after reports the UK will drop its goal of spending 3% of GDP on defense by 2030.
Murphy rejected suggestions the US would use the Falkland Islands dispute to force Britain’s hand, saying decades-old US policy remains neutral on sovereignty while recognizing British administration.
Under current projections, UK defense spending would reach 2.7% of GDP by 2030, even as NATO’s 2025 Hague declaration calls for 5% on defense and security by 2035, including 3.5% on core defense.
He said the Trump administration still has other levers — public pressure, annual NATO reviews and potentially tariffs — as the Pentagon reviews US troop deployments in Europe and pushes allies to carry more of NATO’s conventional burden.
The dispute underscores a wider US campaign to curb allied free-riding inside NATO, with Britain arguing it remains the alliance’s third-largest cash defense spender and Europe’s only member committing its nuclear deterrent to NATO.