from Thomas Donlan at Barron’s, Ignorance is Not Bliss

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has had the chance to take Trump’s measure in the recent NATO and G-7 meetings, and her reading was not good. She reported this to her citizens: “The times in which we could fully rely on others are partly over. I have experienced this in the last few days. We Europeans really have to take our destiny into our own hands.”

Trump should try to remember that the nations of Europe have a poor record when they take their destiny into their own hands. Germany went to war twice against most of Europe in pursuit of hypernationalist goals, eventually drawing in the U.S.

After World War II, the U.S. pushed to create NATO and to unify Europe economically and politically so that Americans wouldn’t have to fight in Europe again. U.S. involvement in Europe was farsighted, wise, and mostly successful, but clumsy U.S. leadership still could do great damage.

HKO

How is this surrender of influence any difference from Obama?

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