Asked during a trip to Brussels for a NATO meeting whether the cuts in defence, specifically in Britain, worried her, she said: "Yes. The reason it does is because I think we do have to have an alliance where there is a commitment to the common defence." ...
Emphasising the concern felt in Washington about a drop in European military spending, US Defence Secretary Robert Gates, who was in Brussels with Mrs Clinton, said: "My worry is that the more our allies cut their capabilities the more people will look to the United States to cover whatever gaps are created. At a time when we are facing stringencies of our own, that's a concern for me."