Allied forces gathered near Iceland to practice hunting for Russian submarines, with a key member missing.
09/05/2026 7:00 AM EDT
KEFLAVIK, Iceland — Donald Trump’s turn away from NATO came to fruition last month in the waters off Iceland.
Allied forces gathered here to practice hunting for Russian submarines, drawing German surveillance planes to scour the waves alongside Canadian warships and Belgian fighter jets.
But for the first time since this decades-old annual exercise began, no American ships or aircraft joined the chase.
The NATO forces, led by a French commander, aimed to prove to themselves and Moscow that they could protect the continent without American leadership. And in stepping back, the U.S. cemented a pullback that began with the second Trump administration — and further ceded the strategically important Arctic to its allies.