00:03Hello and welcome to The Cube, Euronews' fact-checking show.
00:07A raft of viral social media posts claims that Marco Rubio, the US Secretary of State,
00:13has announced the complete withdrawal of troops from Europe.
00:16These posts on X have racked up more than a million views altogether
00:20and all feature the same clip of Rubio giving an interview to Fox News.
00:24The captions say that the US spends 100,000 troops and $60 billion defending Europe every year
00:31and that this, combined with Europe's supposed lack of help to the US in the Strait of Hormuz crisis,
00:36justifies their complete withdrawal.
00:38They also say that NATO's dissolution is a done deal.
00:41However, if you watch the clip, you can see that while Rubio is clearly critical of NATO and its European
00:47members,
00:47he does not announce a total withdrawal of US troops.
00:51He says that once the Strait of Hormuz crisis is resolved,
00:54Washington will re-examine the value of NATO and whether it has become a one-way street
00:59that only benefits Europe and not the US.
01:02An official transcript of the interview was published by the US Department of State
01:06and there's no mention there of the country pulling all its troops out of Europe.
01:10However, it should be noted the US has been making moves to reduce its military presence in Europe.
01:15The Pentagon announced earlier in May that it intended to remove 5,000 troops from bases in Germany
01:21followed by a decision to cancel the deployment of 4,000 troops in Poland.
01:25Around 36,000 US troops are currently stationed in Germany and around 80,000 in Europe as a whole.
01:31It's also inaccurate to suggest that NATO only benefits Europe and not the US.
01:36So far, the US is the only member state to have ever triggered the alliance's Article 5 mutual defence clause
01:42in the wake of the 9-11 attacks.
01:44In response, NATO countries increased intelligence sharing and cooperation,
01:48boosted security for US facilities and provided blanket overflight clearances for US aircraft, among other measures.
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