March 19, 2025 (EIRNS)—The commanding general of NATO, known as the Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR), has always been an American, from the time Dwight Eisenhower assumed that position in 1949. However, according to an NBC report posted yesterday, the Trump Administration is considering giving up the U.S. hold SACEUR as part of an overhaul of U.S. military command structure. NBC notes that it is not clear how long such a reorganization could take, and it could be modified by the time it is complete. Congress could also weigh in, using the power of the purse, should members oppose any aspect of the initiative.
Giving up SACEUR would, if nothing else, be a major symbolic shift in the balance of power in NATO, the NBC report goes on. “For the United States to give up the role of supreme allied commander of NATO would be seen in Europe as a significant signal of walking away from the alliance,” retired Adm. James Stavridis, who served as SACEUR and head of European Command from 2009 to 2013, said in an email. “It would be a political mistake of epic proportion, and once we give it up, they are not going to give it back,” he wrote. “We would lose an enormous amount of influence within NATO, and this would be seen, correctly, as probably the first step toward leaving the Alliance altogether.”
NBC’s sources indicate that the giving of SACEUR, along with other measures such as the consolidation of the Pentagon’s 11 combatant commands into 5, is being considered for budgetary reasons. There is no suggestion, at least not yet, of abandoning the British-inspired geopolitical outlook which has informed US military planning for decades.
