On June 18, Secretary of State "of War," Pete Hegseth, presented the "new concept" of NATO 3.0 during a meeting of NATO Defense Ministers:

"Our allies must step up more. ... That is what the defense spending commitments are all about: Transforming NATO back into a real military alliance focused on hard power. A NATO 3.0, modeled after the NATO 1.0 that won the Cold War, with our allies truly taking the reins of Europe''s conventional defense. (...) NATO''s power came from the warriors. That was NATO 1.0, an unapologetic fighting organization (...)

Our [US] National Defense Strategy clearly states that we will incentivize our allies to step up and play their part. We will closely monitor allies who fail to do so and who answer ''no,'' ''maybe,'' or ''let''s wait and see'' when it matters most."

Clearly and brutally put, the United States is forcing European "allies" to overarm and locking them into a war logic: Explicitly, a NATO-aligned Europe must "play its part" in the global war on the Russian flank.

This is by no means an "abandonment of Europe" as portrayed by the media and politicians, but on the very contrary, a division of labor in the upcoming global war: The United States needs all its forces in East and West Asia to confront China and Iran. They have no intention of stopping the war in Ukraine, but are assigning it, both financially and militarily, to European "allies":

"On the Ukraine front as well, progress has been made. Thanks to President Trump''s PURL initiative, the allies have taken the lead in funding Ukraine''s defense support. The Ukrainians are holding their positions, even in the face of sustained Russian assaults."

And beware of the recalcitrant: Sanchez''s Spain is only beginning to feel the consequences of its inclinations toward respecting international law. The vassals know they are "closely monitored" by their master.

In passing, Hegseth crudely exposes NATO''s raison d''être:

"The President [Trump] simply stated that our planes should take off from bases located in Europe, or that our ships should depart from European ports, to strike targets in the Middle East (...). But too many of our allies refused, or tried to drown us in obscure legal debates, or publicly criticized us for doing what they are not willing or able to do themselves. It was shameful! These allies endangered America''s sons and daughters, our sons and daughters, by denying them the predictable access, basing, and overflight rights that should never have been questioned. (...)

[NATO 3.0] will be designed to ensure that NATO moves rapidly and irreversibly toward a leading role for Europe, assuming primary responsibility for Europe''s defense, ensuring that our forces are tailored to global US needs, and making sure that our access, basing, and overflight rights are clearly guaranteed."

Hegseth literally commands the "defensive" alliance to unconditionally support American aggressions. So, you thought NATO was created to "protect us"? The famous "Article 5" of NATO, which is always referenced, reads as follows:

"[each member of the Alliance] will assist the Party or Parties so attacked by taking forthwith, individually and in concert with the other Parties, such action as it deems necessary, including the use of armed force."

"such action as it deems necessary" does not mean entering the war alongside the attacked ally. It could be, for example, providing satellite intelligence, supplying weapons, or even granting credit for the purchase of those weapons... In short, exactly what NATO is already doing "in favor of" Ukraine—which has led that country straight into the depths of disaster.

The real purpose of NATO is not to "protect us," but to serve as a power projection tool for US imperialism, with the full consent of our leaders. It is not "our protection" that is guaranteed, but rather the network of bases, access to our ports, and overflight rights—even if it means flouting international law, those "obscure legal debates." The purpose of NATO is to ensure US guardianship over the world. And whether you call it 1.0, 2.0, or 3.0 changes nothing about this fundamental reality.