European allies are so far hesitant to help America in the Gulf because they don't want to get dragged into another misadventure? Say what?
Given Trump’s volatile temper and his hawkish advisers, sending warships to the Gulf carries the risk of getting embroiled in yet another U.S. war in the Middle East. ...
There’s little doubt that the U.S. is capable of securing the Strait of Hormuz without any help at all from Europe. But its difficulty in getting such help shows the hollowness at the heart of the transatlantic alliance. Years of U.S. foreign policy misadventures have made key NATO allies too cautious to get involved even when the U.S. isn’t proposing an all-out war on some distant country but merely an operation to secure a major shipping route from an adversary that is unlikely to take on a broad Western coalition.
The author mentions Iraq and Libya as a reason for those two countries not wanting to help with escort missions in the Persian Gulf. I guess Afghanistan is still the "good war" (that NATO officially backed under the collective defense provisions) for the author. That's amazing enough.
But the 2003 Iraq War was a continuation of the UN-sanctioned 1991 Persian Gulf War that was only suspended by a ceasefire that Saddam did not comply with by clearly demonstrating he had ended his WMD programs.
Further, we dragged in nobody. Some allies helped in Iraq. Some even fought at our side. And I thank them for that. Neither Germany nor France was dragged into that war against their will. I know that because neither fought there.
And the Iraq War 2.0 was begun by Obama, retroactively validating the reasons for going after Saddam by refusing to let what we'd achieved be undone by ISIL and Iran.
And the Libya War was under Obama as well, and was pushed by the French and Europeans with America being dragged in to support our unprepared allies when the war was not the short and glorious effort the Europeans thought it would be.
The author even undermines his case by noting that Germany--which is half of his case--gets its energy from Russia and not the Persian Gulf.
I'd also note that Germany has offered to send a warship to the Pacific to challenge Chinese territorial claims in the South China Sea. Is Germany is worried America will drag them into war with Iran but not with China? Okay.
Remember too that Germany's navy is in sad shape. They may not be able to sustain an escort effort far from home. So when a German, perhaps reflecting the government's position, says Europe should operate in the Gulf apart from America, what is clearly meant is Europe except Germany.
As for France? Well, France has a history of being ... difficult ... with America. Being known as having independence of action is a high priority for France's foreign policy. And the author even notes that, which undermines his case.
And in 2013 it was France that leaned forward on the issue of striking Assad for using chemical weapons.
Face it, the European hesitation is a trend that was predictable ever since NATO won the Cold War. I recall telling my students in 1990 and 1991 when I taught an introductory American history course that Europe and America would pull apart. This was in the context of the covering the growing tension between the American colonies and Britain between the French and Indian War and the Revolution, as Americans tired of paying for defense after Britain ended the French threat to the colonies.
To be fair to the Europeans, Iran has not escalated since their small attacks in the Gulf. So it isn't clear whether Iran is serious about threatening oil shipping or whether Iran is engaged in Tanker War 2.0 Theater in order to scare the Europeans into helping Iran cope with American pressure.
Also, the Persian Gulf is an out-of-area mission that is not at the heart of NATO reason for existing--protecting Europe from invasion. What NATO does is establish working relationships and common standards that allow American and European military forces to work together more effectively either in Europe or in other parts of the world if interests coincide. Which could be out of Europe if allies are willing.
If Iran does start seriously hitting shipping, American efforts now to get allied help will pay off as planning will already have been done to plug allied ships into the effort.
And I should note that our Persian Gulf allies are better prepared to confront Iran than they were in the 1980s; and they are more willing to confront Iran.
NATO's cohesion is weaker (or hollow, in the author's term) because of reduced threats to NATO states that existed from 1989 to 2014. Don't drag stupidity into the alliance issues we have today.
