La revue américaine Foreign Affairs publie - dans son édition du 22 août 2022 - un article relatif aux relations euro-américaines dans le domaine de la défense. L’essentiel de l’argument est le suivant : les Etats-Unis devraient encourager plus fortement l’Union Européenne en tant que telle (et non pas seulement ses Etats membres) à se doter d’une capacité de défense autonome pour faire face à la menace russe.
En dépit des multiples encouragements de Présidents successifs, l’administration américaine (State ans Defense Departments) s’est de fait opposée à cet objectif. De sorte que, comme le révèle la crise ukrainienne, l’effort de «containment» européen est fortement soutenu par - et dépendant de - l’aide américaine.
D’autre part, l’auteur prévient que les USA - de plus en plus engagés face à la Chine - devront forcément réduire leurs efforts financiers et militaires envers l'Europe et que l’arrivée (ou le retour) au pouvoir d’un Président « Anti-Atlanticist » pourrait même couper les liens entre l’Europe et les Etats-Unis.
Nous reprenons ici les principaux passages de cet article dont la conclusion logique est le soutien à la création d’un fort pilier européen au sein de l’OTAN aussi autonome que possible des Etats-Unis.
Et il est utile de noter que cet encouragement à une plus grande autonomie stratégique du continent européen rejoint la ligne de pensée du plan Macron pour une Communauté Politique Européenne.
Jean-Guy Giraud 22 - 08 - 2022
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Europe on Its Own
By Max Bergmann
August 22, 2022 « The Biden administration’s engagement with Europe is ultimately unsustainable.
There is no way Washington will be able to maintain the current level of diplomatic engagement, force deployments, and resourcing to Europe over the longer term.
Washington will likely find it impossible to balance the demands of its allies in Europe and Asia while maintaining the force presence necessary to deter Russia and China. The United States is overstretched.
The United States should be pursuing a strategy to push Europe to take charge of its security, turning Europe from a security dependent to a true security partner.
The United States should call for the creation of a European pillar within the NATO alliance and to fully back the European Union becoming a stronger defense actor
Every U.S. president has called for Europeans to spend more on defense, but the overarching goal of U.S. policy has not been to push Europe to stand on its own,
The diplomats and officials who develop U.S. policy on Europe enjoy European dependence and the influence it provides
When Europeans say, ‘OK, we will carry more of the burden,’ the Americans say, ‘Well, wait a minute, are you trying to tell us to go home?’”
The United States has used its immense influence in Europe to block efforts that could lead to a more independent Europe.
On the surface, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine seems like the shock that would finally force Europe to accept U.S. entreaties to increase its defense spending.
The more significant structural problem is that European defense-spending increases are going not toward Europe’s collective defense but to individual countries’ national defense.
Europe does not spend to protect the continent as a whole; the United States does.
Almost none of the additional defense spending will go toward acquisitions that enable Europe to fight as Europe and therefore reduce the strain on the U.S. military
Despite spending tremendous amounts on defense, Europe is still likely to be dependent on the United States
The alliance would focus on turning European forces into a capable fighting force, with or without the United States.
Creating a European pillar within NATO would require empowering the EU, a political and economic union that looks out for broader European interests.
The real threat to the transatlantic alliance is the status quo. The 25-year U.S.-led effort to prevent the EU from being an independent military actor has been largely successful
There is also a clear danger that the United States will decide it does not want to be indispensable to Europe anymore. The next president could be an anti-Atlanticist such as Donald Trump »