>Depends on whether you have lived in an advanced Western European country.
All of which enjoy the shadow of nuclear security provided by the United States.
All of which enjoy the shadow of nuclear security provided by the United States.
psst They're also quietly better at cybersecurity than the US government.
The EU is under the security blanket of the US, whether it likes to believe it or not. Hell, most of those countries pay less than 2 percent of their budgets towards their own defense, and they get pissy when the past three US Presidents call them out on it.
Suggesting the EU "needed" this is a bit misleading. And I say this as an American exasperated at our refusal to reduce force projection on foreign nations.
NATO was originally formed to be a defense alliance of democratic countries against communism and Russia. Russia, while a threat to the United States, poses more of a threat to Europe (for geographic reasons) than to the United States.
It’s just waves of blowback from bad decisions without any concept that the groundwork for more blowback is being laid.