Nations in Europe Acknowledge They Can’t Count on America

Posted by Tina

A growing threat from ISIS and Russian agression has the nations of Europe feeling uneasy about the future. Adding to that unease is the realization that America cannot be counted on to lead or offer solutions. These sentiments were made apparent at the recent Munich Security Conference. Josh Rogin reports:

Several European officials told me that there was little expectation that President Barack Obama, in his last year in office, would make any significant policy changes to address what European governments see an existential set of crises that can’t wait for a new administration in Washington.

“There’s a shared assessment that the European security architecture is falling apart in many ways,” said Camille Grand, director of the Foundation for Strategic Research in Paris. “There is a growing sense that this U.S. administration is focused on establishing a legacy on what has already been achieved rather than trying to achieve anything more. Yet the problems can get much worse.”

During the first day of the conference, the U.S. role in Europe was hardly mentioned in the public sessions. In the private sessions, many participants told me that European governments are not only resigned to a lack of American assertiveness, they also are now reluctantly accepting a Russia that is more present than ever in European affairs, and not for the better.

“There’s not a lot of talk about how the United States can be part of the solution. We seem to be disappearing from their calculations,” said Walter Russell Mead, a historian with the Hudson Institute. “From the European standpoint, Putin has become somebody that like it or not that they have to deal with.”

Secretary John Kerry attempted to bring a theme of optimism in his speech but his remarks were met with some skepticism. I share their concerns.