Europe's Reaction To The Re-Election Of President Obama

EU Leaders Press Obama On Economy, Security -- Wall Street Journal

European leaders congratulating U.S. President Barack Obama on his re-election used the moment to press him for increased focus on reviving the world economy and resolution of international conflicts such as the civil war in Syria.

Mr. Obama's re-election brought a sigh of relief in many parts of Europe, which was eager to avoid an inconclusive American election that could derail the already difficult task of navigating the financial crisis that has gripped the Continent for several years and resulted in the ouster of several European leaders.

Top European officials expressed praise for President Obama, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel and British Prime Minister David Cameron, who called him "a very successful U.S. president."

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More News On Europe's Reaction To The Election Of President Obama

European leaders congratulate President Obama -- Washington Post
Europeans praise Obama’s victory -- Euronews
US Presidential Election 2012: Obama's victory opens door to US-Europe trade talks, EU says -- Economic Times
Obama's victory opens door to U.S.-Europe trade talks: EU -- Reuters
EU leaders congratulate Obama, pledge to boost ties -- Business Recorder
European leaders: Let's get world economy moving -- CNN
Obama Win Cheers European Markets -- Wall Street Journal

My Comment: By tomorrow Europe is going to be focused on their problems, and the results of the U.S. election will be forgotten.

As The Pentagon Pivots Towards Asia, Europe Is Left Out In The Cold

In Pentagon's 'Pivot' Toward Asia, Has Europe Been Forgotten? -- Anna Mulrine, Christian Science Monitor

President Obama is pushing the Pentagon to look toward Asia, but some worry that US attention could overbalance away from Europe, which remains the home of many core allies.

As the Pentagon sets its strategic sights on the Asia-Pacific region – warning of the rise of China and the growing importance of naval power – some US military commanders are concerned about the fate of America’s relationships with its traditional allies in Europe.

Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling, who heads US Army Europe, recalls a recent visit he made to Ukraine with the US secretary of the Army.

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My Comment: Has Europe been forgotten in the Pentagon's pivot to Asia .... I would have to say yes. But Europe today is different .... the Cold War is over, and their focus is managing their economic and debt crisis .... not building up a military to confront a foe that may wish to do harm (when there is no real foe out there to confront them). Asia is a different story. it is where most of the world's population resides, it will soon have a majority stake of the world's economy, and there are adversaries and foes who do wish to do harm .... North Korea being the number one protagonist.

US Military Withdraws From Europe

Photo: US soldiers from 3rd Brigade 1st Air Cavalry division waiting. (AFP/Getty Images)

Amid Cuts, US Military Withdraws From Europe -- Global Post

US pullouts from Iraq and Afghanistan mask a larger drawdown in Europe.

NEW YORK — The ebbing of the American military tide that swept across the globe following the Sept. 11 attacks almost a decade ago flows most clearly right now in Iraq, where U.S. logistical units work flat out these days to keep up with the flow of departing troops and equipment.

In Afghanistan, too, the quartermasters who run the U.S. military’s great logistical pump will soon flip the switch to backwash, all told removing the vast majority of a force that in 2008 peaked at 198,000 between the two battle zones.

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My Comment: The article makes a good point .... when the final American division in Europe — the U.S. 1st Armored Division, left in May .... there was little if any fanfare. My prediction .... within 10-20 years the only thing that will be left of an American military presence in Europe will be a few missile defense installations, and it's cemeteries.

U.S. Looking At Europe For More Defense Help

U.S. Looks To European Allies For Defense Help -- NPR

With U.S. military spending coming under new pressure from congressional budget cutters, Pentagon planners want European allies to pick up a greater share of the defense burden. The question is which way to look.

West European countries are the most accustomed to working with the U.S. military, but they are now the least inclined to invest in defense. To the east, the former Soviet bloc countries are generally eager to help, but their militaries have less experience in joint operations with their U.S. counterparts.

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My Comment: The Americans are going to be very disappointed.

Should America's Last Brigades In Europe Come Home?

Photo: Sgt. 1st Class Zachary N. Balancier, front, and and Pvt. Christian E. Risby of the 170th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, train in Grafenwohr, Germany, in October. The Defense Department is expected to decide early this year whether to keep the Baumholder-based 170th and the Schweinfurt-based 172nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team in Europe.

Europe's Brigades Remain A Contentious Issue -- Stars And Stripes

HEIDELBERG, Germany — Just last year, Adm. James Stavridis, commander of U.S. European Command and NATO supreme allied commander, told Congress that keeping four U.S. Army combat brigades in Europe — instead of two — was “crucial” to the mission and national security interests.

The four brigades were necessary for deterring aggression and adventurism. They were needed to be closer to current battlefields and to prepare for the next one by building capacity, trust and influence with our closest allies, he said.

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My Comment: Most Europeans that I know have an ambivalent altitude towards the U.S. military presence in Europe. They know that the Americans are there, but they are rarely seen and heard. If (eventually) the U.S. brigades are sent home, the reasons will be more financial than political.

U.S. To Slow Down The Pace Of Military Withdrawal From Europe

Photo: Admiral James G. Stavridis, USN (U.S. European Command)

U.S. To Keep Troops Longer In Europe -- Wall Street Journal

BRUSSELS—The Obama administration has scaled down plans begun under President George W. Bush to bring home two army brigades from Europe, saying it intends only to remove one brigade, and will delay its withdrawal until 2015, a senior U.S. official said Friday.

The decision will leave some 80,000 U.S. troops in Europe from 2015, the year after U.S. troops are scheduled to end their combat mission in Afghanistan. That is the highest number of U.S. troops on European soil since the start of the Iraq war in 2003, said the senior official. That's because many of those serving in Iraq and Afghanistan have been stationed in Europe.

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More News On Slowing The Pace Of U.S. Military Withdrawal From Europe

US to scale back Bush-era plans for troop cuts in Europe, remove one combat unit from Germany -- Canadian Press/AP
Obama to recall US troops from Europe -- Financial Times
Army to transfer just one brigade from Germany to States -- Stars And Stripes

One U.S. Army Brigade May Return From Europe

Gates May Cut At Least One Army Brigade From Europe -- The Danger Room

The U.S.’s huge troop footprint in Europe is a Cold War relic in search of a rationale. Working with NATO militaries? Sure, but you don’t need tens of thousands of troops for that, as Colombia can attest. Supplying the war in Afghanistan? Germany’s Ramstein Air Base is a major air-cargo transit point, sure, but even this war will end someday. And there’s no threat of Russian tanks pushing westward.

But don’t expect the Pentagon to make any dramatic changes to the U.S.’s 60-year old posture in Europe. Defense Secretary Robert Gates thinks it’s too large and too brass-heavy, but Danger Room is hearing that only one Army brigade might actually get shipped back home.

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My Comment: One brigade back home is the minimum that can be done .... as for the rest .... being based in Europe will be regarded as a cushy job before retirement, not as a place for advancement and promotion.

An End To An Era As The Last U.S. Combat Brigades Get Ready To Leave Europe

Decision On Europe-Based Brigades Expected Early This Year -- Stars And Stripes

STUTTGART, Germany — In the coming months, the Defense Department is finally to decide whether to act on a nearly 10-year-old plan to return two brigade combat teams to stateside bases or hold steady in a post-Cold War world, even as European militaries are scaling back.

The verdict, which was delayed until after NATO’s November summit in Lisbon, represents the culmination of a debate that has raged in military circles since the fall of the Soviet Union. Without the presence of a serious conventional military threat, is a substantial American military presence still required in Europe?

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My Comment: This move is a no brainer .... and one that will save money which is what the Pentagon is after right now.

Should U.S. Forces Be Stationed In Europe?

Photo: Lt. Gen. Roger A. Brady answers questions about Air Force recruiting and retention issues during a hearing before a House Armed Services Committee subcommittee in July.
Jim Varhegyi / USAF

USAFE General: Keep U.S. Military Forces In Europe -- Stars And Stripes

RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany — On the eve of his departure as U.S. Air Forces in Europe commander, Gen. Roger Brady remains a vocal advocate of a robust U.S. military presence in Europe, despite calls by some U.S. lawmakers to reduce that footprint in an effort to curtail a ballooning defense budget.

Working with European allies builds partnerships that reap dividends in war and peace, Brady said, citing support from more than three dozen European nations in the Afghanistan war. Those alliances can’t be forged from a distance, he said in a recent interview at USAFE headquarters.

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My Comment: There are many reasons why US forces are in Europe .... but for me the main reason is that it now serves as a jumping point to the Middle East.

Europeans And Americans View Afghanistan Differently

(Click on Image to Expand)

Study Finds Growing EU Skepticism of Afghanistan War -- Spiegel Online

Back when President George W. Bush was in the White House, it seemed as though Americans and Europeans couldn't agree on much of anything. A new survey shows that, when it comes to the world's hotspots, not much has changed under Barack Obama.

In his celebrated 2003 treatise on the divergent post-Cold War paths taken by Europe and the United States, called "Of Paradise and Power," American foreign policy pundit Robert Kagan wrote: "On major strategic and international questions today, Americans are from Mars and Europeans are from Venus."

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My Comment: The same can be said in Canada. Most Canadians hold little if any hope on Afghanistan, and regard it as a lost cause. But this viewpoint pales in what my family and friends in Russia believe .... especially my cousins who fought in Afghanistan for the Soviet Army. To them .... U.S. involvement in Afghanistan is an incredible waste of valuable human resources and materials on a people and culture that will never change .... regardless of the military/political commitment and billions of dollars that the U.S. is now pouring into that backward country.

Update: Gates: Surge seems to be working in Afghanistan -- Yahoo News/AP

Europe's Budgetary Crisis And High Debts Are Impacting Their Defense Budgets

Budget Cuts Are Cracking The West's Defenses -- F. Stephen Larrabee, Peter A. Wilson, Christian Science Monitor

Facing budget shortfalls, Britain and France must make difficult choices that could reshape how Western allies meet common security challenges.

The global economic crisis is forcing many of America’s European allies to make deep cuts in defense spending and procurement. This could have a significant impact on US transatlantic defense cooperation, especially with Britain and France. These two allies have had the greatest capability for power projection. Both countries now face difficult trade-offs as they decide how to modernize their nuclear deterrents, as well as their conventional forces.

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My Comment: Europe will look at the U.S. to fill in some of the gaps in their defense programs. But with the U.S. also facing severe financial constraints and a realization that they cannot afford the military and the wars that they are fighting now .... European allies are going to be disappointed.

Military Exports A Source Of Friction Between The U.S. And Europe

Rendering of Northrop Grumman Corp.'s KC-45 refueling tanker. The plane would be assembled in Mobile if selected by the U.S. Air Force. (Northrop image)

US-Europe Tensions Rise Over Arms Deals, Exports -- Reuters

LONDON, March 10 (Reuters) - The United States and Europe face growing tensions over restrictions on export deals involving BAE Systems (BAES.L) while European politicians protest the collapse of efforts to sell aerial tankers to the United States.

The U.S. State Department said on Tuesday it would delay action on any new export license requests by BAE Systems (BAES.L) after the British military contractor pleaded guilty to violating several U.S. laws.

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Update: Trans-Atlantic Defense Deals Falter -- Wall Street Journal

My Comment: There have been many trade disputes before, but the dollar amounts involved are huge and its impacts on a country's economy cannot be underestimated.

Expect more "problems" when the F-35 program is online, as well as many other smaller but significant defense contracts.

Europe Rejects U.S. Request To Track Terrorist Money Transfers

The European Parliament voted against the Swift agreement allowing the United States to search European personal banking data. Photograph: Martin Argles

Europe Rejects U.S. Deal on Bank Data -- New York Times

BRUSSELS — The European Parliament on Thursday broadly rejected an agreement with the United States on sharing information on bank transfers that was aimed at tracking suspected terrorists through their finances.

The vote in Strasbourg, France, underlined differences between the United States and the European Union over how to balance guarantees of personal privacy with concerns about national and international security.

A resolution to reject the deal passed 378-196, with 31 abstentions. The vote means that the agreement, which provisionally went into force at the beginning of February, cannot be used as planned.

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More News On Europe's Rejection Of US Access To Bank Data

European parliament rejects US data swap deal -- Financial Times
MEPs veto US access to bank data -- The Guardian
EU Lawmakers Reject EU-US Data Sharing Plan -- Wall Street Journal
EU assembly rejects U.S. bank data deal -- Reuters

My Comment: The vote was not even close.

Cost Concerns Propelled U.S. Missile Pivot

Barack Obama announces plans to scrap the US missile defence shield in central Europe.
Photograph: Charles Dharapak/AP

From The Wall Street Journal:

Obama Decision Is Aimed at Saving Pentagon Funds While Helping Nonproliferation Push; Shift Was Years in the Making.

WASHINGTON -- The Obama administration's scrapping of long-range missile interceptors in Europe wasn't just about security and diplomacy, according to people close to the process: It also came down to money.

"A ground-based interceptor is generally about a $70 million-per-missile asset going after a $10-$15 million [Iranian] missile," a senior administration official told arms-control analysts Thursday at a briefing explaining the rationale, according to a recording heard by The Wall Street Journal. "The trade is not a good one economically. It's not a good one from a military strategy position."

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My Comment: The excuses are now coming out to justify what has turned into a diplomatic disaster. Of course these interceptor missiles are expensive, but the damage that an Iranian missile can do has the potential of exceeding the cost of any interceptor.

Expect more reasons and excuses to come out to justify this decision .... but the damage has already been done. The Europeans are asking themselves .... why sign a defense and security agreement with the U.S., when a different administration may just jettison it. The White House could have handled this differently .... but for some bizarre reason they decided to not consult with our allies and to layout a justification for changing the program .... hence this perception from Europe that the Americans are unreliable.

There is now going to be a strategic rethink in Europe on American intentions and credibility .... and the net result will be a lack of trust from Europe in the leadership of the U.S. In a more substantial way .... expect the Europeans to put pressure on laying the groundwork for withdrawing from Afghanistan. The Canadians are now committed to leave in two years .... I expect the Europeans to now follow suit.

U.S. Stance Toward Russia Again Divides Europe

Presidents Obama And Medvedev In Medvedev's Moscow Office (Photo from Newsweek)

From The New York Times:

BERLIN — Twenty years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, new fissures are emerging between Western and Eastern Europe — this time over President Obama’s policy toward Russia, according to an international survey published Wednesday.

The survey, Transatlantic Trends, an annual poll of European and American public opinion conducted for the German Marshall Fund of the United States, found that Europeans, far from speaking with one voice on foreign policy issues, are divided over the role of the United States and how to respond to the growing assertiveness of Russia.

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My Comment: For as long as I can remember, Europe has always been very skeptical of U.S. actions and intentions. I do not expect this to change for the foreseeable future, even with President Obama in office.

Nicolas Sarkozy Puts Barack Obama In The Doghouse

From Times Online:

Why the master of America's new First Mutt is no longer in good odour with President Sarkozy

France has been cooing along with everyone else over the arrival of Bo Obama at the White House, but the master of America's new First Dog is no longer in good odour with President Sarkozy.

Mr Sarkozy is pouring cold water on President Obama's efforts to recast American leadership on the world stage, depicting them as unoriginal, unsubstantial and overrated. Behind leaks and briefings from the Elysée Palace lies Mr Sarkozy's irritation at the rock-star welcome that Europe gave Mr Obama on his Europan tour earlier this month.

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America Under Barack Obama Is Taking A Long, Cold Look At Its Transatlantic Relations

President Obama at the G20

From The Telegraph:

Europe's passion for the States is unlikely to be reciprocated, says Janet Daley.

America has become quite accustomed to being despised by Europe. I wonder how Europe will adjust to being hated – or worse, dismissed – by America.

What's that? You thought that the contemptuous attitude to Old Europe had been definitively trounced when the swaggering Texan was replaced by Barack Obama, the cosmopolitan sophisticate who took time out from his own domestic political campaign to address adoring crowds in Berlin? Bizarrely enough, precisely the opposite has happened. Paradoxically, what Mr Obama has succeeded in demonstrating to his own nation is that no amount of charm and flattery, no degree of self-abasement and apology for American "arrogance" is going to get any meaningful reciprocity from the Old Europeans (which is to say France and Germany, and the EU which they dominate) who could give lessons in sublime, transcendental arrogance to any American president however urbane and nuanced his message might be.

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My Comment: The Europeans should not be surprised. Lets face it, when President Obama was in Europe he received little if any support for his foreign policy initiatives. European support for Afghanistan ... a few trainers and soldiers for the election. North Korea .... nothing. Iran .... nothing. Taking Guantanamo inmates ... only one for France.

President Obama has made it very clear on changing the status quo. The Europeans must now wonder if that also includes them.

President Barack Obama Tells Europe It Must Contribute More To The Fight Against Terror

From The Telegraph:

President Barack Obama has thrown down the gauntlet to America's Nato allies, declaring that the Europe should not look to the United States as its patron but should instead be a partner that contributes more to its defence capability.

Appearing alongside President Nicolas Sarkozy of France in Strasbourg before attending Nato's 60th anniversary summit, Mr Obama said: "We want strong allies. We are not looking to be patrons of Europe. We are looking to be partners of Europe."

Mr Obama lauded France as America's "oldest ally, our first ally" and hailed Mr. Sarkozy's "initiative, imagination, creativity." Returning the compliment, Mr Sarkozy spoke of a new White House occupant who wanted to "change the world" and was not concerned only with narrow American self interest.

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My Comment: Europe is not going to bite. The breaking of the missile defense agreement treaty with Poland and Czechoslovakia, the lukewarm support of former Soviet states in favor of better relations with Russia, and its independent approach towards dealing with Iran and North Korea .... these policy changes have made European countries deeply suspicious of U.S. commitment and intentions. Expect the Europeans to now pursue a policy independent of the United States.

Barack Obama Fails To Win Nato Troops He Wants For Afghanistan

Leaders of Nato countries take their seats for a working dinner at Baden-Baden

From Times Online:

Barack Obama made an impassioned plea to America’s allies to send more troops to Afghanistan, warning that failure to do so would leave Europe vulnerable to more terrorist atrocities.

But though he continued to dazzle Europeans on his debut international tour, the Continent’s leaders turned their backs on the US President.

Gordon Brown was the only one to offer substantial help. He offered to send several hundred extra British soldiers to provide security during the August election, but even that fell short of the thousands of combat troops that the US was hoping to prise from the Prime Minister.

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My Comment: I cannot say that I am surprised.

Afghanistan And NATO: Why Europe May Not Be Up To The Fight

French soldiers patrol the outskirts of the Nijrab valley, Afghanistan. Charuel / Sipa

From Time Magazine:

Barack Obama arrived in Strasbourg on Friday for this weekend's NATO summit enthusing about the military organization, which he described at a joint press conference with French President Nicolas Sarkozy as "the most successful alliance in modern history." That it may have been. But Obama's praise contrasts starkly with the scathing assessment of the state of NATO, now 60 years old, by European military analysts, who say that the gap in military capability between the United States and Europe has grown so big that in some places battlefield communication between NATO forces and their US allies has become difficult. "It is such a deep divide that there is a risk that NATO will become an irritant for the Americans, rather than a partner of choice," says James Arbuthnot, a British Conservative Party politician who chairs the Parliament's select defense committee. The apparent problem-free warmth between Obama and other NATO leaders over the state of the alliance, he believes, "is an illusion."

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My Comment: Europeans have no appetite to get involved in the AfghanPak conflict. If they can get out of their commitments .... they will in a heartbeat.