epa13194409 US Under Secretary of War for Policy Elbridge Colby (L) shakes hands with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte during a meeting at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) headquarters, in Brussels, Belgium, 27 August 2026. Colby will later participate in a meeting of the North Atlantic Council with Allied Ambassadors. EPA/OLIVIER MATTHYS

epa13194408 US Under Secretary of War for Policy Elbridge Colby (L) shakes hands with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte during a meeting at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) headquarters, in Brussels, Belgium, 27 August 2026. Colby will later participate in a meeting of the North Atlantic Council with Allied Ambassadors. EPA/OLIVIER MATTHYS

epa13194407 US Under Secretary of War for Policy Elbridge Colby (L) delivers remarks next to NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte during a meeting at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) headquarters, in Brussels, Belgium, 27 August 2026. Colby will later participate in a meeting of the North Atlantic Council with Allied Ambassadors. EPA/OLIVIER...

epa13194406 US Under Secretary of War for Policy Elbridge Colby (L) and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte meet at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) headquarters, in Brussels, Belgium, 27 August 2026. Colby will later participate in a meeting of the North Atlantic Council with Allied Ambassadors. EPA/OLIVIER MATTHYS

epa13194405 US Under Secretary of War for Policy Elbridge Colby (L) and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte meet at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) headquarters, in Brussels, Belgium, 27 August 2026. Colby will later participate in a meeting of the North Atlantic Council with Allied Ambassadors. EPA/OLIVIER MATTHYS

epa13194404 US Under Secretary of War for Policy Elbridge Colby (L) shakes hands with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte during a meeting at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) headquarters, in Brussels, Belgium, 27 August 2026. Colby will later participate in a meeting of the North Atlantic Council with Allied Ambassadors. EPA/OLIVIER MATTHYS