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The United States is pushing NATO to slash many of its foreign activities, including ending the alliance's mission in Iraq and scaling down peacekeeping operations in Kosovo, as the Trump administration seeks to refocus the alliance on core Euroatlantic defense, four NATO diplomats told Politico.
"The effort, which has become known internally as a 'return to factory settings,' reflects a White House drive to roll back decades of expansion into crisis management, global partnerships, and values-driven initiatives," the diplomats said.
Washington has also lobbied to keep Ukraine and Indo-Pacific allies from formally participating in NATO's annual summit in Ankara this July.
NATO maintains an advisory mission in Iraq aimed at strengthening the country's security institutions and preventing the return of Daesh.
The operation was established during Trump's first term in 2018 and has been repeatedly expanded since 2021 at Baghdad's request.
"Washington has asked allies to end the mission as early as September," two diplomats said.
Separately, the U.S. is set to withdraw around 2,500 soldiers from Iraq under a 2024 deal with the Iraqi government, which a U.S. administration official described as part of Trump's "commitment to ending forever wars."
The request is facing pushback inside the alliance.
"It's not the moment to get out of Iraq. The government wants us there," one diplomat said.
A second diplomat said "the majority" of allies agree the Iraq mission should be scaled back, but over a longer timeframe, while keeping a smaller operation in place.
The U.S. has also signaled it wants to wind down the NATO-led Kosovo Force, according to the four diplomats, a prospect that is even more concerning for European allies, though discussions remain at an early stage.
The UN-authorized peacekeeping mission, which began in 1999 after the Yugoslav wars, currently includes around 4,500 troops.
"We're quite concerned about attempts to wind down the mission since things in the western Balkans can escalate quickly," a fifth senior NATO diplomat said.
A NATO official said there is "no timeline associated with NATO Mission Iraq or with KFOR," adding that missions "are based on need, undergo periodic review, and are adjusted as circumstances evolve."
The U.S. is also pressing allies not to invite Ukraine and NATO's four official Indo-Pacific partners—Australia, New Zealand, Japan and South Korea—to formal meetings at the Ankara summit, the four diplomats said.
The countries could still be invited to side events, with the request partly justified as reducing the number of summit meetings.
"Keeping partner countries on the sidelines would send a signal that perhaps the focus is much more on core NATO issues," said Oana Lungescu while speaking to Politico, a former NATO spokesperson and senior fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, while speaking to Politico.
NATO staff have proposed cutting a public forum from this year's summit, a side event hosting country leaders, defense experts, and officials that typically boosts visibility of the yearly gathering.
The NATO official said the alliance "has chosen not to organize a public forum this year but will host a NATO Summit Defence Industry Forum in the margins of the Ankara Summit."
Staff told capitals the move is designed to cut costs, but diplomats believe it could be driven indirectly by U.S. pressure, given Washington's broader effort to slash funding for international organizations.
"NATO has to communicate what's happening—and what it's going to do," a third diplomat said, calling the decision "very harmful" at a time when the alliance is trying to build public support for increased defense spending.
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