Trump or no Trump, the US's ability to be Europe's security shield had to come to an end one day or another. Trump is more a symptom than a cause: the US has weakened and others have strengthened. As many are eager to point out, the game is already up. Pretending like there is a future here is pointless. America had best leave internal European civil wars like Russia-Ukraine to the locals and retreat to whatever borders she can defend.

NATO died when Europe decided to outsource defense wholesale to the US so that she could fund her retiree class, proudly advertising how she redistributes as much as possible to the aged while relying on America to defend her borders. The US could not bear that weight and now Europe must carry it on her own. Doubtless the French will riot in the streets as the retirement age rises so that France may sustain herself rather than live on someone else's dime. But if Europe wishes to be defended, then she must defend herself.

God helps those who help themselves.

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orwin 2 hours ago | parent | next [-]

As if the US did anything for French Defence, except infringe on Thales IPs.

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4gotunameagain 3 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Europe never decided to outsource its defense to the US.

It was the US that wholeheartedly sold quadrillions worth of armaments to the EU, in order to support the cold war remnants of its military industrial complex.

The "funding the retiree class" comment is simply silly, I will not even get baited.

	▲	andsoitis 2 hours ago \| parent [-]
		Europe relies on the US less for money, and more for capabilities. Within North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the US provides most of: - Strategic airlift (moving large forces quickly) - Aerial refueling - Missile defense - Intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance (ISR) - Command, control, and battle management - Nuclear deterrence (via the US nuclear umbrella) Europe can field armies, navies, and air forces, but large-scale, high-intensity war is much harder without the US.

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yolo3000 3 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

What's your point, that we should all build as many nuclear icmbs as possible? Because that is the only deterrent that the Russians and Americans truly have. This is a world no sane person would like to live in. The world we should live in is where we should respect the sovereignty of others and move away from using war and killing as a threat.