Goodbye USA

Last year I watched Band of Brothers, Masters of the Air and The Pacific - the Hanks/Spielberg WWII trilogy. And it struck me how extraordinary it was for young Americans to be fighting and dying in Europe back then - helping to save Europeans from each other. Having grown up in the 50s and 60s, for me it was just unquestioned.

No longer.

Whatever the USA got out of their involvement in the European theatre, it cost them many thousands of lives, dying far from home. Especially bearing in mind that Chamberlain had said about Czechoslovakia: "A quarrel in a faraway country, between people of whom we know nothing”. Eighty years since the end of WWII, Chamberlain's words are infinitely more applicable from the far more distant perspective of the USA.

The US withdrawal of commitment to Europe has been evident since the Obama presidency. Europe including the UK has had plenty of time to prepare - especially bearing in mind what Trump was saying in his first term. Russia bared its teeth westward in 2014 and Europe did nothing. Worse than nothing. Even after February 2022, much of Europe has been half-hearted in its support of Ukraine and resistance to Russia. Some of Europe actively supports Putin and his totalitarian aggression.

Relying on the USA to defend Europe from Russia has proved to be a very weak and stupid strategy. Trump has exposed the weakness and stupidity. Putin must be relishing it all