OPINION: Vladimir Putin’s gotta love Donald Trump’s plan to dump Europe and NATO
Donald Trump shocked America’s allies when he made a late night release of his National Security Strategy (NSS) on December 4. The document contends that the international order the United States established with its allies following World War II has undermined “the character of our nation” and must be replaced by a system focusing on the Western Hemisphere. The concept is to dominate our neighbors to the North and South with what the NSS calls “commercial diplomacy.” That is: “The U.S. Government will identify strategic acquisition and investment opportunities for American companies in the region and present these opportunities for assessment by every U.S. Government financing program.” This is mercantilism in its rawest form.
On the other hand, the NSS suggests that America should distance itself from our European allies who have stood with us and against Russian aggression since Western Europe rose from the ashes of war. Pentagon officials told European diplomats in Washington last week that Trump wants Europe to take over the majority of NATO's conventional defense capabilities, from intelligence to missiles, by 2027. That would be disastrous for America’s national security interests. Our extraordinary control of NATO and cooperation with its partner nations have provided bases to project American power and greatly facilitated our rise as an unrivalled military and economic power.
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