AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): Following the publication of an article by foreign policy analyst Ted Galen Carpenter, debates over the future of transatlantic relations and NATO’s role have entered a new phase. Criticizing the inefficiency of Donald Trump’s foreign policy, the article argues that the United States should no longer bear the costs and risks of defending an increasingly independent and, at times, uncooperative Europe.
Pointing to the growing divergence of interests between Washington and European capitals, Carpenter writes that if Europe is unwilling to support Trump’s hegemonic ambitions, it must abandon its reliance on US security guarantees. He describes this trajectory as a transatlantic “strategic divorce” that should be managed in a mature and peaceful manner.
Within this framework, European leaders are seeking to strike a balance between benefiting from the US security umbrella and pursuing independent policies that, in some cases, run counter to Washington’s interests. Trump’s recent threats to impose tariffs on certain European countries have been viewed as a sign of escalating tensions, particularly following Europe’s criticism of the US president’s push to control Greenland and the European Union’s military plans in the region.
Carpenter notes that the cooling of transatlantic relations dates back to Trump’s first presidential term, when he urged NATO’s European allies to increase their defense spending and reduce their unilateral dependence on US support. These pressures, he argues, pushed Europe toward strengthening its military autonomy.
At the same time, concerns over the Russian threat and the widening gap between European and US political interests, especially regarding Ukraine, have prompted European countries to pursue a more serious reassessment of their security architecture. In this context, citing the views of Rajan Menon, a university professor and critic of NATO, Carpenter suggests that the potential collapse of the alliance would not necessarily be disastrous, but rather part of an inevitable transition.
Meanwhile, the intensifying political crisis surrounding Greenland and Washington’s insistence on asserting strategic control over the island have deepened rifts between the United States and its European allies. Menon argues that claims of the region being encircled by Russian and Chinese fleets serve as a pretext to justify aggressive US policies in the North Atlantic.
These perspectives are seen as aligned with the new US National Defense Strategy, a document that emphasizes reducing traditional commitments to Europe and focusing on Washington’s direct strategic interests, particularly in the Western Hemisphere. Under this strategy, responsibility for Europe’s defense against Russia is largely shifted to European states themselves, while the US role on the continent is more narrowly defined.
The new strategy also highlights priorities such as strategic control over Greenland and the Panama Canal, and underscores Washington’s readiness to act decisively if its interests are threatened. Analysts believe these developments signal the gradual erosion of NATO’s traditional model of collective security and a move toward a new order in which “peace through strength” becomes the central pillar of US defense policy.
**************
End/ 345A
