The criticism was directed at all European members of NATO, but it was clear that the US government believes that Britain bears a special responsibility to maintain its military commitments. The UK has a long track record of scolding its European NATO partners for not spending the 2% of GDP that each has pledged to dedicate to defense; now it appears that Britain itself risks falling short.
第二波攻势牵涉到国防开支问题，上述问题显然更加严重。北约所有欧洲成员国都是批评的对象，但有一点非常明确，即美国政府认为英国在兑现其军事承诺方面负有特殊的责任。英国长期以来一直在指责其欧洲北约伙伴国未能兑现将各自GDP的2%用于国防开支的承诺；但现在看来英国自己的承诺也很有可能落空。