INTERNACIONAL
Examining NATO: Inside the ‘commitment gap’ as US carries alliance deterrence
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This is part one of a series examining the challenges confronting the NATO alliance.
As President Donald Trump ramps up pressure on NATO allies to increase defense spending — and orders the withdrawal of 5,000 U.S. troops from Germany over the next six to 12 months — a deeper issue is coming into focus: even as allied budgets rise, NATO still depends heavily on American military power to function.
NATO’s imbalance is not theoretical — and it is not new, retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg told Fox News Digital, «I told the president… maybe you ought to talk about a tiered relationship with NATO,» Kellogg described conversations with Donald Trump in his first term about the alliance’s future. «…we need to develop a new, for lack of a better term, a new NATO a new defensive alignment with Europe.»
Kellogg, who served as a senior national security official during Trump’s first term, said the alliance has expanded politically but not militarily — creating what he sees as a growing gap between commitments and real capability.
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NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, U.S. President Donald Trump and Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer pose with NATO country leaders during the NATO Heads of State and Government summit in The Hague, Netherlands, on June 25, 2025. (Ben Stansall/Pool/Reuters)
«You started with 12, and you went to 32, and in the process, I think you diluted the impact,» he argued, calling today’s NATO «a very bloated architecture.»
«They haven’t put the money into defense. Their defense industry and defense forces have atrophied. When you look at the Brits right now, they could barely deploy forces: they have two aircraft carriers, both under maintenance. Their brigades are like one out of six that work. And you just look at the capability, it’s just not there. So I think we need to realize that and say, well, we need something different,» Kellogg, who is the co-chair of the Center for American Security at the America First Foreign Policy Institute, told Fox News Digital.
But not everyone agrees the alliance is losing relevance.
«It has never been more relevant,» said John R. Deni, a research professor at the U.S. Army War College, who says NATO remains central to U.S. national security.
«The reason for that is twofold,» he said. «One, it’s our comparative advantage versus the Chinese and the Russians… they don’t have anything like this.»
«And the second reason… NATO underwrites the security and stability of our most important trade and investment relationship,» he added, referring to economic ties between North America and Europe.
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NATO Chiefs of Defense hold a hybrid meeting in Brussels on Aug. 20, 2025, with screens displaying allied leaders joining remotely to discuss Ukraine. (Fox News)
Dependence: Design or Weakness?
By around 2010, the United States accounted for roughly 65% to 70% of NATO defense spending, according to analysis provided by Barak Seener from the Henry Jackson Society, a London-based think tank.
«They’ve always been dependent on the U.S.,» Kellogg said of the European allies.
«The allies overall rely upon one another for deterrence and defense by design,» Deni said, explaining that alliances exist to «pool their resources» and «aggregate their individual strengths.»
Deni pointed to ground forces as a clear example of what the U.S. gains from the alliance, noting that «there are far more allied mechanized infantry forces on the ground than there are Americans.»
Still, he acknowledged that reliance has at times gone too far.
«In the past… it was fair to say that the European allies were overly reliant upon the Americans for conventional defense,» he said, pointing to the 2000s.
That, he said, was partly driven by U.S. priorities — as Washington pushed European allies to focus on wars in Afghanistan and Iraq rather than territorial defense.
A Polish Army soldier sits in a tank as a NATO flag flies behind during the NATO Noble Jump VJTF exercises on June 18, 2015, in Zagan, Poland. (Sean Gallup/Getty Images)
Seener describes NATO as «formally collective, but functionally asymmetric,» with the U.S. providing a disproportionate share of «high-end capabilities.»
That asymmetry is most visible in nuclear deterrence.
Seener said the U.S. provides the overwhelming majority of NATO’s nuclear arsenal — including intercontinental ballistic missiles, submarine-launched systems and strategic bombers — meaning deterrence ultimately relies on the assumption of U.S. retaliation.
A NATO official told Fox News Digital that, «The U.S. nuclear deterrent cannot be replaced, but it is clear that Europe needs to step up. There’s no question. There needs to be a better balance when it comes to our defense and security. Both because we see the vital role the U.S. plays around the world and the resources that it demands, and also because it is only fair.»
«The good news,» the official added, «is that the Allies are doing exactly that. They are stepping up, working together — and with the U.S. — to ensure we collectively have what we need to deter and defend one billion people living across the Euro-Atlantic area.»
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Boeing CH-47 Chinook helicopters of the U.S. Army 12th Combat Aviation Brigade fly over a Lithuanian Vilkas infantry fighting vehicle during the Allied Spirit 25 military exercise near Hohenfels, Germany, on March 12, 2025.
The Systems NATO Cannot Replace
Beyond nuclear weapons, the dependence runs through the alliance’s operational backbone.
Seener pointed to U.S.-provided intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance — as well as logistics and command systems — as essential to NATO operations.
«Without U.S. intelligence and surveillance, NATO loses situational awareness and early warning capabilities,» Seener said, adding, «So that means that Russia, for example, can attack Europe. And theoretically, if there’s no NATO and the U.S. is not involved, Europe would not be aware, or it would take it too long to be able to defend itself.»
Kellogg also says that much of Europe’s military capability falls short of top-tier systems.
«For the most part, their equipment, if you had to grade it A, B, C, D, E, F, they’re kind of like B players or C players,» he said. «It’s not the first line of work.»
He pointed to air and missile defense as a key gap, noting that while European countries rely on U.S.-made systems such as Patriot and THAAD, «they don’t have a system that’s comparable.»
Kellogg attributed that to years of underinvestment, saying European defense industries «have atrophied,» adding that the United States is also now «relearning that as well.»
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NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg looks on as President Donald Trump and Poland’s President Andrzej Duda talk during a working lunch at the NATO leaders summit in Watford, Britain, on Dec. 4, 2019. (Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)
Deni said the picture today is more mixed.
«Alliance defense spending has been up… and has spiked far more after 2022,» he said, pointing to Russia’s invasion of Crimea in 2014 as a turning point.
But he cautioned that capability gains take time, noting that many improvements are still years away from full deployment.
Deni pointed to recent European purchases of U.S. systems as evidence of growing capability, noting that countries including Poland, Romania, Norway and Denmark are acquiring the F-35 fighter jet from the U.S.
«You can’t build an F-35 overnight,» he said, adding that many of these improvements will take years to fully materialize.
A NATO official told Fox News Digital the alliance «needs to move further and faster» to meet growing threats, pointing to new capability targets agreed by defense ministers in June 2025.
Keith Kellogg speaks during the Warsaw Security Forum 2025 on Sept. 30, 2025, in Warsaw, Poland. (Marek Antoni Iwanczuk/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
The official said priorities include air and missile defense, long-range weapons, logistics and large land forces, noting that while details remain classified, plans call for a fivefold increase in air and missile defense, «thousands more» armored vehicles and tanks, and «millions more» artillery shells. NATO also aims to double key enabling capabilities such as logistics, transportation and medical support.
The official added that allies are increasing investments in warships, aircraft, drones, long-range missiles, as well as space and cyber capabilities, while boosting readiness and modernizing command and control.
«These targets are now included in national plans,» the official said, adding that allies must demonstrate how they will meet them through sustained defense spending and capability development.
The NATO official also noted that European allies lead multinational forces across Central and Eastern Europe, while the U.S. and Canada serve as framework nations in Poland and Latvia, alongside ongoing air policing missions and NATO’s KFOR operation in Kosovo.
One of three Swedish Air Force JAS 39 Gripen fighter aircraft takes off from the Blekinge Wing F17, based in Kallinge southern Sweden for a base in Sardinia to join the Nato-led operation in Libya, on Saturday, April 2, 2011. As Sweden joins NATO, it bids a final farewell to more than two centuries of neutrality. (AP Photo/Scanpix/Patric Soderstrom, File)
What happens if the U.S. is stretched?
Kellogg’s warning is direct: NATO’s deterrence depends on U.S. presence.
«The one you always have to worry about… is Russia,» Kellogg, who was Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine and Russia in 2025, said.
If U.S. forces are tied down elsewhere, NATO could face serious strain — particularly in areas like intelligence and logistics.
For Kellogg, the danger is delay. «We won’t know until it happens,» he said. «And then you won’t be able to respond to it.»
Deni, however, said the alliance remains a strategic asset — not a liability.
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A NATO military force stands guard outside the World Forum in The Hague ahead of the two-day NATO summit on June 22, 2025. (Remko de Waal/ANP/AFP)
The question, he suggests, is not whether NATO still works. It is whether allies can adapt fast enough to keep it working.
nato, defense, national security, alliances, spending
INTERNACIONAL
Del exilio al verso: el joven nicaragüense que encontró inspiración en catedral de San Salvador
La historia de Carlos Alberto Bojorge Martínez se forjó en el barrio La Esperanza, en Managua, donde la iglesia y las misiones rurales marcaron su infancia y adolescencia. Desde niño, su vida giró en torno a la fe y la palabra escrita, siempre acompañado de un cuaderno de poesía.
Ese vínculo con la escritura se puso a prueba el 1 de enero de 2024, cuando fue arrestado tras participar en una procesión religiosa en la catedral de Managua. Sin orden judicial y bajo el régimen de Daniel Ortega y Rosario Murillo, Bojorge fue encarcelado durante nueve meses en “La Modelo”. El 5 de septiembre de ese año, se le impuso el destierro junto a otros 134 presos políticos, enviándolo a Guatemala y obligándolo a dejar atrás su país.
De acuerdo con Diario CONFIDENCIAL 30, el exilio lo condujo a California, donde su nueva vida se reparte entre el trabajo en una franquicia de comida rápida, el aprendizaje del inglés y la dedicación a la lectura y la poesía. La pérdida de la nacionalidad nicaragüense ha limitado su movilidad, impidiéndole asistir a encuentros de la Iglesia en Argentina y El Salvador, y profundizando la sensación de lejanía e incertidumbre.
La experiencia del destierro fue el germen de su primer poemario, Me duele hasta el aire, publicado en febrero de 2026. La presentación de la obra está prevista para el 23 de mayo en la Hayward Public Library de California. El volumen, compuesto en un 90% por poemas escritos antes del encarcelamiento, contiene solo un texto redactado en prisión: “Libertad”, en la página 145.
La estructura del libro se divide en cinco secciones: una dedicada al exilio, otra a la Iglesia católica, una tercera con los versos previos al encierro, una cuarta centrada en la promesa de amor y una quinta orientada a la sinceridad. Cada apartado refleja distintas facetas de la experiencia de Bojorge, desde el desarraigo hasta la búsqueda de sentido y fe.
Quienes se preguntan qué motivó el exilio de Bojorge encuentran respuesta en la represión sufrida tras su detención y el posterior destierro forzado. El poeta narra el dolor de la distancia con palabras que resumen su vivencia: “Me duele hasta el aire que no respiro en mi casa, y hay días que no quisiera estar aquí”.
La publicación de Me duele hasta el aire no solo marcó el ingreso de Bojorge al mundo literario, sino que también definió una nueva etapa en su vida de exiliado. El poemario, tejido entre recuerdos y heridas abiertas, se convirtió en un canal para transformar la experiencia personal en denuncia colectiva.
La motivación para publicar surgió en diciembre de 2023, cuando Bojorge visitó el mausoleo de San óscar Arnulfo Romero en San Salvador. Allí, sintió el impulso de convertir sus versos en una herramienta de denuncia, inspirado por el ejemplo del arzobispo mártir. “Sentí la presencia de Romero, diciendo que yo podía hacer algo también”, recuerda el poeta.
Durante su estancia en prisión, las “tardes de tertulia” se convirtieron en uno de los pocos espacios de libertad. Bojorge compartía poemas propios y de autores latinoamericanos como Eduardo Galeano, Mario Benedetti, Pablo Neruda y Ernesto Cardenal con otros reclusos. En ese contexto conoció al sociólogo Freddy Quezada, quien más tarde escribiría el prólogo del libro y describiría la obra como “estructurada en capas que van desde sus poemas más maduros, para una edad en pleno vuelo, hasta los primeros, asustados y con los ojos abiertos al mundo”.
En el exilio, Bojorge ha seguido escribiendo, y ya cuenta con cerca de 50 poemas inéditos que espera reunir en una próxima publicación. Aunque la experiencia carcelaria sigue pesando en su memoria, insiste en que la poesía permanece como su principal medio de denuncia y expresión: “La poesía es manifestar, denunciar, es escribir lo que uno siente”.
Su obra puede encontrarse actualmente en plataformas digitales, donde también ha compartido textos que antes circularon en redes sociales o entre amigos cercanos.
Desde California, Carlos Bojorge mantiene vivo su compromiso con la denuncia y la memoria. Según declaró a Diario CONFIDENCIAL 30, “Yo sigo denunciando el atropello y las violaciones a los derechos humanos que cometieron en contra de mí. El expulsarme del país por una puerta trasera, eso no debía de ser así”. Su poesía, nacida del dolor del exilio, se ha transformado en un testimonio vigente de la represión, la fe y la resistencia.
Carlos Alberto Bojorge Martínez,Managua,Nicaragua,procesión religiosa,Catedral,régimen Ortega-Murillo,policía,derechos humanos,protesta,vela
INTERNACIONAL
Dem Senate candidate Sherrod Brown claims he supports ‘closing the border’; GOP says record proves otherwise
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Republicans are calling out Democratic Senate primary candidate Sherrod Brown for being disingenuous on illegal immigration just days before Tuesday’s Ohio primary election.
«I support closing the border to people so they just can’t cross the border at will, but I also say we, of course, should be deporting people that have committed a crime, surely,» Brown said in an interview last month, prompting reviews of his voting record to the contrary.
That remark has raised concern about Brown trying to rewrite his voting record that showed longtime opposition to border security and deportation of criminal aliens since the first Trump administration.
Brown served in the Senate for three terms (2007-2025), nearly two full decades, before losing in 2024 to Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio. Now, Brown is seeking the seat of Sen. Jon Husted, R-Ohio, who was appointed to Vice President JD Vance’s seat at the start of the second Trump administration.
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Former Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, made recent comments that do not align with his voting record in the Senate or House for the past 30-plus years. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc)
Brown had been squarely on the side of the left against President Donald Trump’s border security and enforcement actions as a senator. Not only did he vote at least 10 times to protect federal funding for sanctuary cities from his time in the House in 2001 through his third Senate term in 2024, he has also:
- Co-sponsored the 2019 End Mass Deportation Act, which sought to rescind Trump’s executive order to prioritize deporting criminal illegals and withhold funding for sanctuary cities.
- Voted against ensuring ICE has «sufficient resources to detain and deport a higher number of illegal aliens who have been convicted of a crime.»
- Voted against funding to stop criminal aliens from securing amnesty.
- Voted to stop funding for deportation of criminal aliens in 2001.
Brown’s voting record shows a discrepancy between his latest comments and his past votes and public positions.
Brown has repeatedly opposed construction of a southern border wall «that doesn’t work,» calling the idea «stupid,» «wrong» and «ludicrous.» In the past he has voted:
Fox News Digital reached out to Brown’s campaign for comment, but they did not immediately respond.
The Ohio Senate race figures to be a very competitive one this summer, drawing massive campaign dollars from both sides in the pursuit of the Senate majority, with immigration remaining a top issue.
«This November, Ohioans will have a clear choice between the past and the future,» Husted campaign manager Drew Thompson told Signal Cleveland, which reported a $1 million ad campaign for his Senate race this week, despite running unopposed in the primary. «Jon Husted is getting an early start by taking his story directly to voters who are ready for a fresh, common-sense approach in Washington.»
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Brown’s 32-year record of voting for sanctuary cities and illegal immigration will come back to haunt him in the state, Thompson added in a statement.
«After shocking Ohioans in 2024 by claiming he only hears about illegal immigration from the far Right, Sherrod Brown is now desperate to return to Washington and continue the same Biden-era open border policies he supported for 32 years,» the statement read. «Jon Husted, on the other hand, is working to clean up Sherrod Brown’s mess by funding border security, supporting border agents, and standing for the rule of law.»
Ohio is one of three races considered a toss-up by The Cook Political Report. The re-election campaign of Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and the open Michigan seat vacated by retiring Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., are the other two.
Sen. Jon Husted, R-Ohio, was appointed to fill Vice President JD Vance’s vacated Senate seat and now faces his first real re-election test in a key battleground state. (Getty Images)
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Senate seats in Alaska (lean GOP), Georgia (Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga.), North Carolina (lean Democrat) and New Hampshire (lean Democrat) are the other close races drawing attention and campaign dollars.
«Sherrod Brown’s lies aren’t going to trick Ohioans,» NRSC regional press secretary Nick Puglia said in a statement. «They know Brown has fought for over half a century alongside liberals like Kamala Harris to open our borders and protect dangerous criminal illegals from deportation.»
democrats elections, immigration, border security, republicans, senate elections
INTERNACIONAL
República Dominicana: El Corredor 27 de Febrero cuadruplica usuarios y fortalece transporte público en Santo Domingo
El Corredor 27 de Febrero en Santo Domingo experimentó un crecimiento sin precedentes al cuadruplicar su cantidad de pasajeros diarios en menos de una semana, superando los 16,000 usuarios por día y consolidándose como un eje fundamental en el transporte público de la República Dominicana, según informó la Operadora Metropolitana de Servicios de Autobuses (OMSA). Este salto se atribuye, en parte, a la reducción sostenida de las frecuencias, que, por primera vez, mantienen un intervalo de solo cinco minutos entre cada autobús durante toda la jornada, lo que elimina las esperas prolongadas en las paradas y responde directamente a una demanda histórica de los usuarios.
De acuerdo con el vicepresidente ejecutivo de la OMSA, Onéximo González, este aumento, registrado tras el relanzamiento del corredor a finales de abril de 2026, está acompañado de decisiones orientadas al beneficio social. Uno de los datos diferenciales destacados en el último tercio de la información, y que constituye un hito singular respecto de otros corredores, es que los adultos mayores de 65 años —sector que representa el 2,5% de todos los pasajeros— podrán viajar en el corredor de forma completamente gratuita, gracias a un subsidio específico destinado a los envejecientes, anunció González este viernes según detalla el medio OMSA.
La importancia de las medidas adoptadas se refleja tanto en la magnitud de la transformación operativa como en su alcance inmediato: el corredor trasladó de 4,000 a más de 16, 000 pasajeros diarios durante su primera semana de funcionamiento bajo el nuevo esquema, según cifras oficiales de la entidad.
El vicepresidente ejecutivo de la OMSA subrayó el giro de la gestión institucional ante las demandas ciudadanas. González expresó: “El pueblo nos habló. Nos pidió un servicio digno, rápido y constante. Escuchamos, corregimos la operación y hoy avanzamos con resultados”.
La OMSA ha implementado un sistema diario de desinfección mediante ozono en todos los autobuses del corredor, con el objetivo de transformar los conductos de aire y el ambiente interno de las unidades en espacios libres de bacterias, virus, hongos y malos olores, sin dejar residuos tóxicos. Para ejecutar este proceso, la institución dispone de una estación propia equipada con tecnología Turbo Fast de inyección de ozono ultravioleta, que purifica el aire en solo 10 minutos y alcanza un 99,9% de desinfección en el interior de los vehículos, garantizando un entorno saludable de manera sistemática desde el inicio de operaciones modernizadas.
En términos operativos, la ruta del corredor recorre un amplio tramo de la Avenida 27 de Febrero, conectando de forma estratégica todo el Gran Santo Domingo desde la zona de Induveca hasta las proximidades del Hipódromo V Centenario, cubriendo cerca de 65 paradas en su trayecto y operando de 6:00 a.m. a 22:00. Entre las novedades anunciadas, González confirmó que “el Corredor 27 de Febrero se emparejará con la ruta hacia la Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo (UASD)”, lo que facilitará el acceso de miles de estudiantes a esa casa de estudios.
La tarifa estándar para el recorrido es de RD$15.00, mientras que, como fue anunciado, el beneficio de gratuidad ya está disponible para los adultos mayores de 65 años, quienes integran una minoría significativa dentro del flujo total de pasajeros.
Respuesta táctica a una demanda histórica: intervalos de cinco minutos y modernización de flota
Con la incorporación de unidades renovadas y modernas, la OMSA garantiza una operación sostenida de autobuses cada cinco minutos, eliminando esperas prolongadas y elevando la puntualidad y comodidad, lo que representa un giro esencial respecto a modelos de operación previos. Esta frecuencia, inédita en la historia del servicio, ha marcado la pauta para futuras intervenciones en otras rutas del transporte público dominicano.
González concluyó que “estamos devolviendo el respeto al usuario. Autobuses limpios, puntuales y sin abusos. La OMSA nueva escucha, corrige y avanza con la gente”.
El Corredor 27 de Febrero se posiciona actualmente como una de las rutas con mayor afluencia y modernización en el sistema de transporte de la República Dominicana, integrando innovaciones tecnológicas, subsidios sociales y una gestión operativa orientada a la demanda real de los pasajeros, de acuerdo con los datos difundidos por la OMSA.
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