German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Friday that NATO is important not just for Europe but also for the United States, speaking as a major security gathering kicked off in Munich.
Europe--now extended to eastern Europe--is an important ally and source of economic, military, and scientific power. It is an objective as much as an ally.
Which is why I am so anti-European Union.
So we'll not be abandoning it or NATO, our primary tool for strengthening our alliance with and defense of Europe.
And as a side note, while Merkel catches grief from conservatives these days, she's head and shoulders above Gerhard Schroeder--anti-American and in Russia's pocket since then--who preceded her.
She made a mistake welcoming unlimited migrants to Europe--which could kill her career. And her allies have another reason to be miffed at her green policies (tips to Instapundit).
But from America's perspective she's a Westerner, no doubt.
UPDATE: Yes, we can cajole Europeans to spend more on defense, but a free and friendly Europe is an important objective for America even if Europeans spent zero money on defense. (Tip to Instapundit.)
Although I strongly disagree with the author's negative assessment of the Iraq War. Note that President Obama who vaulted to the Oval Office on his opposition to the Iraq War ultimately initiated Iraq War 2.0 in 2014 to correct his error of leaving Iraq too soon in 2011.
If the initial war was such a mistake, why did President Obama of all people commit to defending Iraq?
But more important than quibbling over that statement at the moment, America will remain a strong NATO partner to defend Europe, more than a quarter century after the West won the Cold War which freed eastern Europe and more than 70 years after World War II freed a good part of the rest. from Nazi and Fascist control.
