00:00even as 32 nations gathered in Ankara to pledge historic defense spending.
00:04The U.S. was simultaneously pulling troops out of Europe.
00:08The Pentagon confirmed the withdrawal of a U.S. Army brigade from Germany
00:12and canceled plans to deploy long-range fire systems that would have deterred Russian aggression.
00:18Congressional Armed Services chairs from both parties called it a very concerning decision.
00:23Here is the strategic reality.
00:26Russian drones already struck Romanian apartment buildings in May,
00:30Russian aircraft incursions into NATO airspace tripled in 2025.
00:34And with U.S. troops withdrawing,
00:36six NATO member states on Russia's eastern flank
00:39now have significantly less American military protection than they did six months ago.
00:44In the middle of the biggest NATO summit in decades,
00:47the United States is simultaneously reducing its military presence
00:51in the very region that Russia is threatening.
00:54That contradiction is not lost on anyone in Ankara today.
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