No. of Recommendations: 1
And given European history before we decided to become the overwhelming military force on the Continent, the risks posed by doing this should be treated as considerable.
Let me play devil's advocate for a moment.
WWII ended 80 years ago. There has been an entire generation of people born (and mostly died) since that war ended. Those who were actually old enough to remember the war are in their 90s. Those old enough to have served are approaching or over 100 years old.
Almost the entire population of the planet has spent their lifetimes with a peaceful Europe.
Much of Europe is now in a political and economic union. They largely share a common currency. They travel freely between the countries of the EU. The EU government serves as a way to negotiate and resolve disputes between the EU states without resorting to war. Through NATO, they share a common defense.
So is the threat of war between individual European states as much of a risk as it was 80+ years ago? I suspect it is not. There are more ties keeping the nations of Europe together - political, economic, and social - than there have ever been in history.
I don't disagree that the benefits of a peaceful Europe have been good for America. But the cost of those benefits is not insignificant. At some point, we have to ask if it is time to let Europe take more responsibility for their own security. This is not a bad time to begin that process. Russia is not the same threat today that the USSR posed 40 years ago. They are struggling in Ukraine and have been weakened by that ill-advised fight. They represent a smaller threat to Europe than they have at any time since the establishment of the Soviet Union.
This could be a good time to reduce (not eliminate, but reduce) our presence in Europe while assisting the European countries to build up their own military in a coordinated and mutually beneficial way.
--Peter
