Editorial: A bill too heavy to pay – By Jalel Hamrouni

The announced withdrawal of 5,000 American military personnel from Germany represents a new stage in the reorientation of United States foreign policy, already amplified under Donald Trump. If we can interpret this withdrawal as a simple strategic adjustment in a multipolar world, it also reveals a more worrying reality for Europe: the systematic submission of NATO member states to American foreign policy, to the detriment of their own interests and at the cost of serious consequences, particularly in the Middle East.

Since the end of the Cold War, NATO has become not only a military defense organization, but also the armed arm of the United States in international interventions. Although the Alliance was designed to protect Europe in the face of direct aggression, it was gradually used to defend American geopolitical and economic interests on other continents, often against the will of the Europeans. The Middle East is the most striking example, notably with the war in Iraq in 2003, to which Europe responded with majority support, even if many member states, such as France, were opposed to it.

More recently, in the long Iranian crisis, the United States has led Europe into a dangerous dance, particularly with the barbaric offensive led by Trump and his Zionist allies against Tehran. This decision not only exacerbated tensions in the region, but also placed Europe in an extremely uncomfortable position. Forced to follow Washington’s policy, the Europeans had to navigate between their desire to preserve commercial relations with Iran and their strategic alliance with the United States.

Result: a bitter failure, both for Europe and for NATO, since Europe found itself unable to play an autonomous role on the international scene, while suffering the consequences of the American policy of escalation.

NATO, as a pillar of European security, should logically defend the collective interests of member countries. However, American influence within the Alliance has led to a progressive deviation from its original role, making it too often complicit in Washington’s strategic choices, even when the latter are widely contested within the member states. Let us take the example of the war in Afghanistan, which, beyond the humanitarian horror and the staggering costs, placed NATO in the position of an actor which, instead of protecting Europe, devoted considerable resources to a war far from its borders, without any tangible benefit for the European security.

In the same way, American pressure for a confrontation with Iran could, in the long term, lead NATO into a new military spiral whose consequences risk hitting Europe much more than the United States, particularly in terms of energy security and regional stability.

NATO, by acting as a relay for American ambitions in the Middle East, has paid a high price: European soldiers sent to distant theaters of operations, wasted military resources, a weakening of diplomatic relations with key countries in the region, and an increase in threats security in Europe. Blind support for United States foreign policy has also contributed to the diplomatic isolation of Europe, which, in the case of the war in Iraq as with Iran, found itself in a position of weakness in the face of American strategic choices.

Faced with this situation, it is urgent for Europe to become aware of its excessive dependence on American policy and the way in which this submission compromises its own security. Europe, through its institutions, notably the European Union and NATO, must assert itself as an autonomous geopolitical actor, capable of defining its own defense and security priorities, without being constantly guided by the United States.

In this context, the withdrawal of American troops from Germany can be seen not as bad news, but as an opportunity for Europe to rethink its role within NATO and on the world stage. If the Alliance must remain an instrument of collective security, it must also evolve to become a tool serving Europe’s geopolitical interests, and not simply an armed arm of the United States.

More balanced cooperation, with more equitable contributions and shared priorities, is essential for NATO’s future. European states must also take their responsibilities, both at a military and economic level, by strengthening their capacity to act autonomously, particularly in matters of defense.
It is time for Europe to stop paying the bill for the United States’ strategic errors.

By unreservedly supporting American choices in the Middle East, NATO has accumulated failures: a high human, financial and diplomatic cost, and a progressive loss of credibility on the international scene. If Europe wants to be able to face future challenges – whether it is the rise of China, instability in the Middle East, or threats linked to immigration and terrorism – it must take charge of its own security and abandon the blind following that has characterized its foreign policy in recent decades.

The withdrawal of American troops is only a symptom of a broader trend: that of a world where Washington’s influence on European affairs is no longer obvious. At a time when Europe is seeking a geopolitical future, it is high time that it frees itself from this tutelage, that it asserts its priorities in terms of defense, and that it fully assumes the costs of its own security. This is how NATO can regain its reason for being, not as an instrument of American domination, but as a true alliance of sovereign nations.

J.H.