“The United States has long encouraged the European Union to develop a security policy so that the Europeans can take care of their own backyards like Bosnia, Moldova, the southern Mediterranean, Belarus, Ukraine and the Caucasus. So far, the Union has shown few signs of strategic thinking, not to speak of defense coordination.
That is why last November, Britain and France agreed to a far-reaching deal over military cooperation. “The agreement called into question the sustainability and relevance of the E.U.’s security and defense policy,” said Clara Marina O’Donnell, defense expert at the Center for European Reform in London.
Other European countries mostly ignored the deal. It might take the gradual withdrawal of the United States to convince the Europeans that they need a long-term security strategy that deserves its name.”

See: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/14/world/europe/14iht-letter14.html

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