Because that's what the latest complaint from political "Europe" as expressed by France's Macron sounds like:
The idea of Europe seeking to take greater responsibility for its own security is hardly a bad thing. Yet the cruel reality is that Europeans tired of reliance on an increasingly unreliable America have nowhere else to go, at least in the short term. And this will only increase the resentment many feel at their continued dependence on a superpower that seems to have gone rogue.
It further amazes me that Exhibits A and B are the American withdrawal from the Paris climate accord and Iran nuclear deal that had no chance of slowing greenhouse gas emissions or preventing Iran from going nuclear, respectively.
And yes, the French European Union (EU) Mini-Me is just reflecting recent German comments on the same issue:
German politicians may talk about strategic autonomy and reorientation, but given that the German military is full of submarines that can’t sail, planes that can’t fly and tanks that can’t drive, it is hard to take such comments seriously. On a range of other issues, such as counterterrorism, U.S.-European cooperation is so deep and fruitful that it is hard to imagine the continent functioning effectively should that cooperation be disrupted.
But this talk of whether greater European--read that political "Europe" under the authority of the increasingly powerful EU rather than geographic Europe which has contributed to European defense through the American-led NATO--defense efforts are even possible overlooks the fact that defense of Europe is hardly the objective of creating a European defense structure that excludes America.
Think of the creation of a "European" defense structure as the Bolshevik signing of the Treaty of Brest-Litvosk with Germany in 1918 which made concessions to the external enemy, imperial Germany, in order to solidify their new revolutionary regime against internal threats.
If the EU can finally remove the prefix to their proto-imperial body that the EU is today even if it risks being vulnerable to the external Russian threat (seriously, even defenders of the EU political project who want to suppress nationalism by force (killing freedom with acceptable collateral damage) for the greater good point to the failed Austro-Hungarian multi-ethnic empire as a cautionary tale), the EU bureaucrats will take that risk by ejecting America from the continent. And pretending to care about defending Europe when actual caring would involve strengthening NATO is an easy thing for these apparatchiki to claim.
Is it any wonder that the concept of nuance that we Americans supposedly lack continues to elude my simplistic American grasp?
The European Union as a political project rather than a free trade region as initially sold is a threat to American national security and a threat to European freedom and liberty, whether one wants to focus on potential external or internal threats and developments.
It really is that simple.
UPDATE: More evidence for the Europeans to cite about our unreliability:
The U.S. military will station about 1,500 additional soldiers in Germany by September 2020, adding to more than 33,000 American troops already in the country in a move that could trigger fresh tensions with Russia. ...
The U.S. Army said it would begin activating new units at several bases in Germany this year, including a field artillery brigade headquarters, two multiple launch rocket system battalions, and a short-range air defense battalion.
What a world. The pro-EU people in Europe think we are doing nothing. And the Russians think we are preparing for war. I think they're both nuts.
