http://redstate.com/bonchie/2026/03/31/the-french-straw-just-broke-natos-back-n2200809
By Bonchie
RedState
March 31, 2026
French President Emmanuel Macron looking pensive wondering if his wife is going to beat him when he gets home.
The American relationship with NATO has never been more strained. Despite decades upon decades of propping up Europe's defense while its leaders spend all their money on welfare programs and mass migration, the United States is now having to fight over something as mundane as transiting the airspace of its alleged "allies."
According to President Donald Trump, France denied the use of its airspace to American cargo planes transporting munitions to Israel as part of Operation Epic Fury.
France, the United Kingdom, and Germany have been asked to do very little in support of this mission. For the most part, the request has simply been for them not to get in the way. This constitutes getting in the way, and it's a betrayal that should not go unchecked.
Keep in mind, it was the French who gave the Islamist extremists refuge during Iran's 1979 revolution. They then flew the Ayatollah into the country to take power. Aside from the regime itself, no one else is more responsible for the nearly half a century of death, destruction, and oppression in Iran than France. For them to now snub their noses at the United States, which has committed trillions of dollars over the years to make sure Russia doesn't run roughshod over Europe, is inexplicable.
Don't misunderstand me. I'm not suggesting NATO requires its European members to join the conflict in full force. But I am suggesting they shouldn't act like spoiled brats, closing their airspace and fretting over the use of their bases for a bombing campaign against an Islamic terrorist regime. If we can't count on them for something that costs them essentially nothing, we won't be able to count on them when the stakes are higher.
In response to this idiocy, Israel has rightfully cut off all security sales to France, which relies on other nations for much of its military technology.
The Jerusalem Post (@Jerusalem_Post) ~ Israel has halted selling defense products to France as a result of France taking a hostile attitude toward Israel, three senior Israeli sources confirmed to The Jerusalem Post.
http://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-891742
Likewise, Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke out directly against NATO on Monday, suggesting that a reassessment of the American relationship with it would be carried out.
Department of State (@StateDept) ~ 🚨 SECRETARY RUBIO: If NATO is just about us defending Europe if they’re attacked, but them denying us basing rights when we need them, then that’s not a very good arrangement.
That’s a hard one to stay engaged in and say this is good for the United States.
Video ~ http://x.com/i/status/2038680072161272066
There is no point in being in such a one-sided alliance. America pays for the lion's share of NATO's defense spending, all while European nations refuse to reciprocate in any real way. We don't need France's support if Mexico decides to invade Texas, but France needs us if Russia marches through Ukraine and into the rest of Eastern Europe.
Further underscoring that was this message from Trump on Tuesday morning, telling the United Kingdom, "The USA won’t be there for you anymore."
Denying the use of airspace and refusing to secure international waters are the straws that broke the camel's back. The United States may not be able to formally leave NATO (due to a law passed during the Biden era), but as long as a Republican is in the White House, and one is for the next three years, these European ingrates should buckle up. The free ride is over, and America is done being spat upon while funding their welfare states.
The essential American soul is hard, isolate, stoic, and a killer. It has never yet melted. ~ D.H. Lawrence
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