Former MI6 chief: Europe relied on the US for too long, their reliability has declined

Former director of British intelligence MI6 John Sawers said that European countries have relied on American security guarantees for too long and are now forced to sharply increase spending on their own defense. He made the statement on October 19 at a security forum in Doha.

Sawers urged against equating Donald Trump’s policies with the position of the United States as a whole.

“Yes, the United States has its own politics. We should be careful not to equate President Trump with the United States. The US is something bigger — it is a permanent state with a constitution and checks and balances built into it. President Trump is a very influential president, and we don’t always agree with him, but our cooperation goes beyond that,” Sawers said.

Speaking about NATO, the former MI6 chief called Europe’s dependence on the American “security umbrella” a strategic mistake. According to him, the growth in defense spending is driven by two factors: the increased threat from Russia and the reduced reliability of the US as an ally.

“Europeans have relied for too long on the security guarantees provided by the US, and we should have been spending more money on our own defense. We are increasing defense spending not because President Trump tells us to, but because the threat from Russia has become much more serious than before, and the reliability of the United States is lower than before. These two factors are what is driving the increase in defense spending,” Sawers said.

Sawers also noted that the trend toward greater defense autonomy is not unique to European countries. According to him, in the Pacific region, Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, and Australia are also seeking greater self-sufficiency in defense and greater resilience than in previous decades, when those countries largely relied on the American umbrella.