Taken from The Future of U.S. Bases in Europe: A View from America
By Luke Coffey, Heritage Foundation, July 15, 2013
… “In my opinion, however, basing American troops in Europe directly serves U.S. national security interests.
Of course, the presence of U.S. forces in Europe contributes to the collective defense of U.S. allies on the continent, but this is a consequence of, not the reason for, maintaining a robust presence. The challenge for U.S. decision makers is to keep a military force that can promote U.S. interests in the region without creating a culture of dependence on the U.S. security umbrella among some of America’s European allies.
The commonly held belief that U.S. forces are in Europe to protect European allies from a threat that no longer exists is wrong. In fact, forward basing U.S. troops in Europe is just as important now as it was during the Cold War, albeit for different reasons… (more)
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