US Crusade against the EU: 2025 National Security Strategy of the US

ssu

First there was the speech in Munich by JD Vance. Now the attack is written down as national strategy.

The Paper

Especially if you are an EU citizen or a citizen of UK or Ireland, I would urge those interested in geopolitics to read the actual short (30 page) document itself and not rely on just the commentaries about it:

National Security Strategy of the United States of America

If you have gotten through the praises of the glorious achievements of president Trump (which remind me of an academic paper from the Islamic Republic of Iran praising Allah on every page), you might have noticed that the real threat, mentioned many times, are the "evil" trans-national organizations doing their "evil" elitist stuff against the US. The sinister trans-national organizations and their threat to sovereign nation states with their elitist agendas is mentioned in several parts.

In the part named "Promoting European Greatness", the rant that JD Vance started at Munich is continued with inconsistencies like wanting to Europe to stand on its feet and increase defense spending, but then Europe having to be saved from the current path... basically by anti-EU parties. Even if the EU isn't mentioned, it's quite easy to connect just what trans-national organization is in the crosshairs of Trump regime. Also NATO enlargement is off the table, which has been the first priority for Russia in it's military doctrine. So, again a surrender deal from Trump (which now isn't anything new). In the more crazy stuff, the paper seems to believe in the replacement theory that is so dear to the far-right.

The European commentators response has been quite clear: that the US is an untrustworthy ally or even worse, while the leading countries have officially simply been silent, at least in public. Even EU foreign minister has responded by saying that the US is still Europe's most important ally. This tactic has worked well for example in the case of Denmark, where the territorial demands made by Trump were treated with a silence and inaction that made the tiny country hold on to Greenland in the first Trump presidency. Perhaps this too is one of those hilarious policy papers coming from zealous ideologues in the White House and hence should be left in the dustbin.

Some might hope that when the Democrats regain the White House, it will be a return back to normalcy, when there are adults in the room. Just to show how different the Trump Security Strategy is, here's the previous Strategy paper made by the Biden administration (see 2017 National Security Strategy). For those who don't want to read the whole documentary, here's the part about Europe from the previous administration, note that it was BEFORE the Russian conventional attack in 2022:

Europe (Biden NSS)

A strong and free Europe is of vital importance to
the United States. We are bound together by our
shared commitment to the principles of democracy,
individual liberty, and the rule of law. Together, we
rebuilt Western Europe after World War II and
created institutions that produced stability and wealth
on both sides of the Atlantic. Today, Europe is one
of the most prosperous regions in the world and
our most significant trading partner.
Although the menace of Soviet communism is
gone, new threats test our will. Russia is using
subversive measures to weaken the credibility
of America’s commitment to Europe, under
mine transatlantic unity, and weaken European
institutions and governments. With its invasions
of Georgia and Ukraine, Russia demonstrated its
willingness to violate the sovereignty
of states in the region. Russia continues to intimidate
its neighbors with threatening behavior,
such as nuclear posturing and the forward deployment
of offensive capabilities.

Yet likely it isn't going to be so.

The Impact

Behind the curtains the obvious is totally evident. The notes obtain by the German Der Spiegel from a conference call between European leaders show just how little if any trust there is with the Trump team (see "We Must Not Leave Ukraine and Volodymyr Alone with These Guys"). Naturally they won't come out publicly with these views, perhaps only when Trump really invades Greenland with US Marines landing in Nuuk.

What has really happened? I think this really shows the end of US being a Superpower: with joy in Moscow and Beijing, the US destroys itself the tight alliances it has enjoyed and hence looses it's role in the World. Why would this create a void, isn't the US wanting Europe to stand on it's own feet? Because European defense is built on trans-national organizations like NATO and EU. The whole integration process was because of WW1 and WW2: not to have inter-European wars between nation states anymore. This is something that the White House mob doesn't seem to get and here lies the inconsistency. But if one is totally ignorant of the reasons why Europeans have chosen integration, why there exists an EU, then perhaps this paper makes sense. People who are ignorant about this will read the Strategy paper above and find no inconsistencies at all.

But what do you think?
Is the Trans-Atlantic link now permanently eroding? I think it will limp onwards, because there's still too much invested in the relationship. Even if you think this isn't worth commenting, I really urge to take the time a read what the Trump administration seriously thinks the guidelines ought to be for US security policy.

Tzeentch

The Trans-Atlantic partnership and NATO should have died in 1991, and replaced with something that did not give Washington the amount of leverage over European affairs as it ended up having.

A way forward for Europe would have anyway involved this decoupling from the US in favor of a more horizontal relationship.

But that's the end of the good news.

Brussels is one giant Trans-Atlanticist lobby, and the European Union will likely suffer a severe crisis of legitimacy when the Americans stop greasing pockets.

Instead, it appears Washington will start fueling the ensuing political chaos by finally blowing the lid of the grand reservoir of justified criticism of the EU and its leaders which has been bubbling beneath the surface for decades.

The EU is an undemocratic, untransparant abomination (the document is completely right about that) that is then unlikely to be capable of the far-reaching reforms that it requires to become a viable independent European super state.

The more gloomy question to ask however, is 'why' and 'why now'?

It's clear the geopolitical situation in the world is coming to a head, and we must assume this decoupling from Europe is a piece to Washington's puzzle vis-á-vis how it intends to sow chaos in Eurasia, which is its only feasible strategy in maintaining hegemony.

Not only must it seek to defeat China, but it must also stop other Eurasian nations from rising up as 'laughing thirds' - nations like Russia and Europe, for example.

This is of course why the decoupling is taking place - Washington's intention is to embroil Russia and Europe in a war with each other, the rotten seed for which it has diligently started sowing since 2008.

Europe and Europeans on their part are geopolitically completely and utterly ignorant, as evidenced by the war-fueling rhetoric of European leaders (who are just towing the Washington line), and the stark lack of pushback from the European people themselves. This lack of understanding of the risks makes Europe infinitely more vulnerable.

A geopolitical storm is coming, and it will be insitgated by the US as it senses it is losing global control to BRICS. (The idea in the document that US is 'pulling back' is an obvious lie that shouldn't be taken seriously) Europe is not ready for it, but staying under Washington's yoke was no option either, and would have just given the Americans even more freedom to sacrifice Europe in whichever way it saw fit.

If Europe had instead started kowtowing to Washington even harder (I suppose it still might), the price for it will be militarization and fueling nationalism - two obvious ingredients for conflict down the line.

ssu

The Trans-Atlantic partnership and NATO should have died in 1991, and replaced with something that did not give Washington the amount of leverage over European affairs as it ended up having. — Tzeentch

Luckily NATO didn't go away, because Russia chose the irrational and destructive path of imperialism and clinging on to a lost empire and not the obvious solution of transforming and adapting to the post-empire situation as UK, France or Spain had. It had the CIS, could have been a stabilizing force, but then came Putin the gambler who saw the collapse of the Soviet Union as an unfortunate accident that could be repaired. Countries like Sweden and Finland would have been all too happy to enjoy their situation between the West and Russia, but Putin's bellicose actions forced them to use the NATO option.

Brussels is one giant Trans-Atlanticist lobby, and the European Union will likely suffer a severe crisis of legitimacy when the Americans stop greasing pockets. — Tzeentch

?
On the contrary.

First of all, Brexit showed every EU member just how much it sucks to go outside the common market. The disaster that faced UK hasn't gone unnoticed in other countries. There's no 'wonderful freedom' and economic bliss out there as an non-EU member, which many EU critical parties have now understood. Other countries aren't so rich as Norway and Switzerland. And if the bellicose actions of Russia have brought NATO countries together and NATO back to it's roots, the vilification of the EU by the US will just strengthen the lines in the EU. Of course they are those clinging on the Trump train, but they are few and have to understand that there's no advantage in having that "special relationship" with Trump.

Washington's intention is to embroil Russia and Europe in a war with each other, the rotten seed for which it has diligently started sowing since 2008. — Tzeentch

Quite a conspiracy theory. In truth Trump is eager to get those big bribes for those lucrative contracts that Kirill Dimitriev is dangling in front of him. It's similar to the promises of a Trump hotel earlier, now just the money is in the billions. The Trump regime is one of the most corrupt administrations (if not the most) that has ever been in power in the US.

The EU is an undemocratic, untransparant abomination (the document is completely right about that) that is then unlikely to be capable of the far-reaching reforms that it requires to become a viable independent European super state. — Tzeentch

Now your confusing. What do you want? An European super state? Jeesh, how undemocratic would that be! First and foremost, EU contrary to it's name is a de facto confederation of independent states and good that it stays so. It will be always a loose confederation and the what I abhor are the lunatic and utterly damaging ideas of it becoming a federation like the US. That will never happen and good so. That we have EU elections is enough, because I don't want the EU to challenge anymore than now the authority of the state Parliament. Yes there should be more transparency, but that's a minor issue.

Europe and Europeans on their part are geopolitically completely and utterly ignorant, as evidenced by the war-fueling rhetoric of European leaders (who are just towing the Washington line) — Tzeentch

What line are you talking about? The Washington line above sees Europe itself as the obstacle for the ~~surrender~~ peace in Ukraine! Obviously they aren't towing the Washington line. Did you read the National Security Strategy paper???

A geopolitical storm is coming, and it will be insitgated by the US as it senses it is losing global control to BRICS. — Tzeentch

BRICS is even a more loose group than the various G(pick a number 7 to 20) groups. China and India have had border wars and really aren't allies at all (especially when China is the closest ally to Pakistan). Brazil and South Africa have their own problems and have few things in common with China or India. The US can loose it's place a the sole Superpower, but look at the facts @Tzeentch, nothing will replace it. There's just this huge void left, which will create a giant vortex of various players trying to carve their place in the post-US world, but nothing and nobody will replace the US. And "the fall" of the US isn't going to be so dramatic. It won't be the sole Superpower, just the largest Great Power around.

Whoopee.

US Crusade against the EU: 2025 National Security Strategy of the US

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