It is axiomatic among the ruling classes of the West that the strategic and cultural relationship between America and Europe is the bedrock of global stability. They will trot out all sorts of platitudes reinforcing the idea that our shared culture, love of democratic ideals, dedication to market economies, pluralism, blah... blah... blah... makes us a common culture separated by an ocean.
And it couldn't be farther from the truth! The disconnect built up a huge head of steam in the 1960s as the Soviets built a massive and comprehensive disinformation campaign designed to weaken Europe and make it more accepting of Soviet socialism and distancing itself from America. It demonized the American military presence in Europe, inflated the threat of nuclear war with America as the atomic bully, nurtured an active socialist political effort, supported a maniacal post-modern interpretation of history and culture, and pushed Europe toward what can only be called an unaligned stance.
It worked. Of course with a huge amount of help from Europe itself, which grew rich by not having to pay for its own defense...relying on the United States to counter the Soviet threat. The current state of most of Europe is that of a failing, demographically challenged region that is gleefully importing 7th century savages to clean their toilets, gobble up their welfare benefits, and rape their women. They are a communitarian culture without a shred of individuality, love of country, martial spirit, or even a sense of history.
With the exception of a few eastern European countries whose experience with communism is fresh in their minds, the continent is content to drift into soft socialism, with its attendant decrease in standards of living. Yes, there are attempts to wrest control from the elites who desire that outcome; France, Germany, and Italy are pushing back with what are laughably called "Far Right" political parties. But what that really means is soft socialism with stricter border controls.
The current dust-up in Eastern Ukraine is a perfect example of Europe's failure. They are obsessive in their hatred of Russia and Putin, but use Russia's natural gas! They want Russia driven back to its original borders, but are unwilling to pay for the effort, rebuild their armed forces to present a strong and unified front, and certainly not send troops! No... they prefer that America spends its treasure on what is a regional border dispute.
They rail against Israel's defensive war against militant Islam, ignoring the reality that Israel is fighting for the entire West. Yet they trade with Iran and even evade sanctions to provide the Mad Mullahs with technology that will bring them closer to an atomic bomb.
They are happy to take Chinese and Arab money, carefully ignoring that its intent is to buy influence.
And we are supposed to continue to spend our blood and treasure to defend them?
Why America Abandoning Europe Would Be a Strategic Mistake
And while there is a consensus in DC that China and the Indo-Pacific should be prioritized in US strategy going forward, for the first time in a century the fundamentals of the future of US relations with Europe are up for debate.
How did we get here? For too long Atlanticism has been taken for granted as the cornerstone of American foreign policy, and as in a marriage of many years, what seemed obvious for so long needs to be re-articulated afresh.
Historically America's commitment to Europe has been about the fundamentals of geopolitics. The United States is a quintessentially naval power situated in a hemisphere separated from the Eurasian landmass by two oceans. Since the early twentieth century it has been a given that accessing secure maritime routes across the Atlantic -- and in a national emergency, controlling them -- is in the country's irreducible national interest. The ability to do so has ensured the security of the American homeland and the Western hemisphere, and equally importantly, the nation's prosperity and economic growth.
Simply put, if America loses credibility in Europe, it will lose credibility in the Pacific, the Middle East, and elsewhere.
So, it's time to conceptualize again and, most importantly, communicate to the electorate why today Europe matters to the United States' security to the degree that it has for over a century now, and -- while it may sound counterintuitive to some as China continues to expand its military at speed and scale -- that it should be prioritized going forward.
How is all of that good for us?
It isn't, but the momentum of 75 years of NATO is very difficult to stop, in large part because our sclerotic government sees the huge investment as a signal of an unbreakable commitment. But the best thing possible for America's strategic security would be to evaluate NATO and Europe from the perspective of 2025...not 1949.
We need real allies, not allies of convenience that cash our checks and then laugh that we are paying.