Leading From Behind 2.0

Please tell me our foreign policy isn't to have the Europeans arm up and expect them to fight to defend America. That didn't work out so well in the first half of the 20th century. It was folly when Obama proposed it. And it is folly now.

Can Europe stand on its own? 

The United States is no longer an ‘ally’ of Europe, according to a former high-ranking figure in Nato. In an interview with Times Radio, Stefanie Babst, erstwhile deputy assistant secretary general of the alliance, said President Trump has ‘switched sides’ and aligned the US with Russia, led by the ‘war criminal’ Vladimir Putin. ‘I don’t think that the Trump administration is prepared to really commit any longer to Nato, to the trans-Atlantic alliance as such,’ said Babst, ‘and he couldn’t care really less for European security.’

Hogwash. The claim has been made before. Typical EU propaganda. Babst has apparently changed her tune on the issue of pressuring Europeans to rebuild their defenses a great deal since a year ago. To me it sounds like European Union wishful thinking. And when Macron joins in that chorus, understand his political exit strategy.

Europe could defend itself. With time. By design it doesn't without America to knit together atomized European capabilities. We should of course want stronger European--but not EU--military power within America-led NATO. We must not indulge in a reboot of "leading from behind" that pretends other countries will fight for American interests without consequences:

Welcome to the flip side of "leading from behind."

When we want allies who can fight without us taking the lead--wait for it--we get allies who can fight without us in the lead.

So they might fight in Vietnam. Or invade Egypt.

So to Americans who join EU and Russian calls to eradicate NATO, I say American influence in NATO must remain strong. So be careful what you wish for when you demand "Europe" stand on its own.

NOTE: TDR Winter War of 2022 coverage continues here.

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NOTE: I made the image with Bing.