Soldiers of the U.S. Army’s 2nd Cavalry Regiment Stryker Brigade fire blanks during a NATO military exercise on May 6, 2026 near Bemowo Piskie, Poland. About 14,000 troops, including thousands of Americans, are participating in the Saber Strike 26 exercises across Poland and Lithuania. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)
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Contrary to what some Trump officials I believe that Europe remains critical to our defense and, indeed, to the security of the Free World. Therefore, the sudden, unexpected cancellation of the deployment of a US armored brigade to Poland raises a deeply troubling question: Is Washington retreating from Europe? Such a withdrawal would be the biggest strategic mistake since the isolationist 1930s, an era that led to World War II.
Last year the US abruptly withdrew a rotational brigade from Romania. A few weeks ago, President Trump decided to pull 5,000 US troops out of Germany because the government was not particularly helpful in helping our efforts in the Straits of Hormuz. The president’s deep distaste for Germany was understandable, but there were other ways to express his anger without withdrawing, an act that, given the circumstances, seemed part of a broader US retreat from Europe.
The withdrawal from Poland is particularly upsetting. It is the central first Central European country to face an aggressive Russia. Warsaw has been steady in defense spending. His expenses are proportionally higher than ours. Unlike most of the rest of Europe, the country has also been an extraordinary economic success story over the past 30 years.
The administration has no sympathy for Ukraine. Just like the Biden crowd, he has refused to provide Kiev with what it needs to decisively push back against Putin’s murderous attempts to take over this democracy. Pending pressure from Congress, the Pentagon recently stopped providing Ukraine with $400 million that had been embezzled.
There is an ominous attitude within the US government “Who needs Europe?” The answer is clear: We do—financially, politically, and strategically.
NATO is part of a broader US security framework. The alliance was absolutely critical to winning the Cold War. It helped create the conditions that have made unthinkable today the kind of continental warfare that twice in the last century nearly destroyed civilization. Democracy in Europe has deep roots.
Despite Russia’s very troubled economy, Vladimir Putin’s goal is for the country to dominate Europe. To this end, he wants NATO to be weakened and then destroyed. He is pleased with what he sees unfolding regarding the US’s future with NATO. The withering of NATO would give us a world in which every country looks out for itself, a situation that would lead to war. Or it would give us a world dominated by China.
Make no mistake, what happens in Europe does not stay in Europe. If we let Europe break, the rest of the world will see the US as an unreliable ally and leader. In response, some countries will develop nuclear weapons, which guarantees a future nuclear exchange.
Of course, until President Trump’s first term, NATO wasn’t pulling its weight militarily. But let’s not forget that US defense spending has also been dangerously low.
And more of Europe needs to follow the examples of Poland, Sweden, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia—not to mention the US—to achieve economic success.
The urgent task for both Washington and the chancelleries in Europe is to begin the hard work of healing the current divisions. We are in the same boat. A new isolationism will sink us all.
