What the commentators said
The mood was anxious at the conference in Munich, said Matthew Kaminski on Politico. “It felt like the first date of an arranged coupling, not the natural renewal of a now 70-year-old vow.” One cause of the discomfort is that European officials still feel unsure about the direction of US foreign policy. Is it the vision sketched out by the “grey-haired, experienced, boring Americans” in their speeches last week? Or the less friendly one communicated by their boss, who calls Nato “obsolete”, takes “potshots” at the EU and praises Brexit?
It’s hard to tell who speaks on behalf of the administration these days, said David Usborne in The Independent. Such are the chaotic workings of the White House that the president and his officials often articulate contradictory positions. Pence has been engaging in “damage control” in Europe, but his efforts could “be undone with a single visit by the president to his Twitter account”. The White House is at war with itself over foreign policy, with different sides vying for supremacy, said Shashank Joshi on Capx. The radicals, such as chief strategist Steve Bannon, have Trump’s ear. But moderates like Pence and Mattis, while “further from the apex of power”, lend the administration crucial credibility. Were they to be sacked – or to resign en masse – it would risk “a serious breach”. So they do wield considerable power.
Be that as it may, said Anne Applebaum in the FT, it’s pretty clear that America’s “political commitment to European security is waning rapidly”. The UK now has a choice: it can either “join others in pretending this is not happening”, or reinvent its security policy. It’s a perfect moment to take the latter course. “Britain is leaving the EU, but it still wants a European role.” So why not help launch a new European security pact – one that is compatible with Nato but better designed to address the threats facing the continent today: “terrorism and chaos in the south; and hybrid warfare from Russia – a vicious mix of political influence operations, targeted corruption, cyberthreats and now a new generation of cruise missiles”? It’s time to start “preparing coldly for the day when the US security umbrella might be withdrawn”.