Originally Posted: July 10, 2017
Jeffrey A. Engel is the founding director of Southern Methodist University’s Center for Presidential History. He is the author or editor of ten books on American foreign policy, most recently, “When the World Seemed New: George H.W. Bush and the End of the Cold War.”
Donald Trump’s election was a victory for an enemy the United States defeated almost three decades ago — the Soviet Union. Mere months into office, he has accomplished what every Cold War leader in the Kremlin desired: a weakening of America’s transatlantic military, political and economic ties that has left Europe ripe for Moscow’s dominance.
But looking at the wilting of America’s influence and alliances, especially the weakening of NATO, solely through the lens of long-term Russian aspirations misses the bigger picture. Trump’s fulfillment of Kremlin aspirations also violates the central tenet of America’s foreign policy since 1945: The United States must stay actively involved to keep Europe stable. Trump instead intends to leave Europe to battle its history alone — a move that threatens the security of the continent, and our own.
American leaders weaned in the shadow of two world wars thought their presence across the ocean was less a matter of altruism than common sense. History told a straightforward tale: The United States won the first world war, went home and a generation later had to do it all over again. Peace prevailed when they stayed. The lesson? The continent’s inhabitants could not take care of themselves. The new world must babysit the old. READ MORE