[US Questions European Allies, Plans to Accelerate Defense Responsibility Transfer] A senior US Department of Defense official stated that as Washington continues to review the deployment of US troops in Europe, the US hopes to "advance and accelerate" the transfer of most conventional defense responsibilities in Europe to Europe itself. US Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, Colby, arrived in Brussels on Thursday to meet with NATO allies and brief them on the progress of the six-month review. This review is expected to be completed by the end of this year and will lead to significant changes in the scale of US military deployments in Europe. As part of this process, US allies received a questionnaire with a deadline of this Friday. The questionnaire asks whether countries "publicly support" Trump's foreign policy, whether they restrict the use of US military bases, and whether they purchase from US defense contractors. "We want to hear directly from our allies and understand their views in writing," Colby said. His visit is related to this questionnaire, which surprised many European governments earlier this summer.
