European leaders are confronting their worst-case scenario: maybe they really are going to be dealing with a bellicose Russia alone.
When the United States lined up alongside Russia and North Korea earlier this week to oppose a UN motion condemning Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, some European officials knew that the transatlantic relationship was in deep trouble. Then they watched in horror as Donald Trump gave Volodymyr Zelenskiy a public dressing down in the Oval Office and something broke.
In interviews with Bloomberg, more than half a dozen officials who’ve maintained their composure through wars and financial crises reacted with visceral anger. For them, the scene showed the trust and values that have bound Europe and the U.S. together since the end of World War II are no longer shared.
“President Trump and his administration raised a more fundamental challenge to the transatlantic alliance than it has faced in many decades,” said Graham Allison, a professor of government at Harvard University, who studied with Henry Kissinger and served in both the Clinton and Reagan administrations.
Going it alone would pose an unprecedented challenge to European nations, but it will also likely be damaging to U.S. prosperity and security too.
In the short term, there are holes in Europe’s capabilities that are plugged by the U.S. And even if they can muster the funds and the manufacturing capacity to supply Ukraine, U.S. capacity in areas such as intelligence, space and battlefield communications would be difficult if not impossible to replicate if Trump shut down all support.
Complete Article:
financialpost.com
When the United States lined up alongside Russia and North Korea earlier this week to oppose a UN motion condemning Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, some European officials knew that the transatlantic relationship was in deep trouble. Then they watched in horror as Donald Trump gave Volodymyr Zelenskiy a public dressing down in the Oval Office and something broke.
In interviews with Bloomberg, more than half a dozen officials who’ve maintained their composure through wars and financial crises reacted with visceral anger. For them, the scene showed the trust and values that have bound Europe and the U.S. together since the end of World War II are no longer shared.
“President Trump and his administration raised a more fundamental challenge to the transatlantic alliance than it has faced in many decades,” said Graham Allison, a professor of government at Harvard University, who studied with Henry Kissinger and served in both the Clinton and Reagan administrations.
Going it alone would pose an unprecedented challenge to European nations, but it will also likely be damaging to U.S. prosperity and security too.
In the short term, there are holes in Europe’s capabilities that are plugged by the U.S. And even if they can muster the funds and the manufacturing capacity to supply Ukraine, U.S. capacity in areas such as intelligence, space and battlefield communications would be difficult if not impossible to replicate if Trump shut down all support.
Complete Article:
Europe's nightmare is here: They have to fight Putin without the U.S.
The blow up between Zelenskiy and Trump laid bare for many Europeans that something has broken in their relationship with the U.S. Read on
financialpost.com
