Monday, August 31, 2026 - A former Pentagon official is urging Washington to put stronger pressure on Britain to increase defense spending, as reports of a possible U.S. shift on the Falkland Islands have triggered a fresh dispute between the two allies.
Morgan Murphy, a former press secretary in the U.S. War Department, said Washington should use diplomatic and economic pressure to push London toward meeting its NATO commitments. He stressed that the United States has not formally changed its long-standing neutral position on Falklands sovereignty.
The controversy comes as the Pentagon conducts a major review of U.S. military deployments and NATO burden-sharing in Europe. Britain is facing particular scrutiny because its current defense plans fall short of the alliance's broader spending ambitions.
Murphy argued that Washington could use measures including public pressure, diplomatic reviews and potentially tariffs to force Britain to accelerate defense investment, saying the U.S.-UK relationship should come with greater responsibility for European security.
The Falklands issue has now become another pressure point in an already tense debate over NATO defense spending. British officials have firmly rejected any suggestion that the islands' status is negotiable, maintaining that the Falklands are and will remain a British Overseas Territory in line with the wishes of their residents.
With Washington demanding that European allies take a larger role in defending the continent, pressure on Britain is likely to intensify as the Pentagon review moves toward key decisions later this year.
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