OPINION — The president’s top national security officials, in the now infamous Signal chat about a planned U.S. bombing of Houthi sites aimed at reopening the Suez Canal for safe passage, did little to hide their loathing of Europe and their belief that Europe is once again taking advantage of American largesse. “I just hate bailing Europe out again,” said Vice President JD Vance, to which Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth replied, “I fully share your loathing of European free-loading. It’s PATHETIC.” Stephen Miller, a top White House advisor, chimed in, saying Europe would owe the United States for safeguarding maritime routes. “[I]f Europe doesn’t remunerate, then what? If the US successfully restores freedom of navigation at great cost there needs to be some further economic gain extracted in return.”
President Trump echoed these sentiments just days later, agreeing that Europe is “freeloading” and said Europe (and other countries) “have abused us economically for many, many decades.” The administration seems to think that any cooperation with Europe makes us Americans suckers. Actions that we once saw as furthering our interests have been redefined as waste, fraud, and abuse.
But it is precisely that cooperation and our global presence that has made us a superpower without precedent. America’s mission abroad—from protecting sea lanes to hosting military bases across the globe, to being the first among equals in NATO—has never been a purely charitable endeavor. We have always done these things to support our own national interests.
The U.S.-led Western alliance that coalesced after World War II has provided the West unprecedented prosperity and power. While the United States has been a huge contributor, it has also been one of the biggest beneficiaries.
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A global military presence
Our military bases abroad give the U.S. forward deployment, much like an aircraft carrier, which allows us to respond anywhere, fast. These military assets are fundamental to our ability to carry out military and foreign policy. That Houthi strike that had Hegseth fistbumping in the Signal chat was carried out from bases in the Middle East.
With a very modest investment—about 100,000 total military personnel assigned to our European bases on a rotational basis—the U.S. gains a presence from the United Kingdom, across Europe, and down to Turkey. These bases support operations across the globe. Landstuhl Hospital and Ramstein Air Base treat our soldiers who are wounded in far-flung locations and who might not survive the long trip back to the United States for proper treatment. They also serve as stopover points for hostage releases and other sensitive meetings.
U.S. Navy Aegis destroyers based in Rota, Spain provide missile defense for Israel as well as the hundreds of thousands of Americans and American businesses all over Europe. More European soldiers than American Soldiers train at U.S. bases in Hohenfels and Grafenwoehr, Germany each year. This gives us the opportunity to build military capability in our image, resulting in enormous leverage over what weapons our allies choose. While this gives the U.S. the leadership role in military alliances, it also benefits American defense companies. As President Trump has made consecutive moves to isolate America from her traditional allies and threatened neighbors and NATO partners, those countries are rethinking developing their military in our image. In just the last few weeks, several countries have begun to reconsider their purchase of the American-made F-35. This hurts our alliance; it also hurts American business.
Intelligence sharing
The Trump administration loathes the intelligence community, yet huge parts of the government still rely on information from it. It informs everything from our trade policy to military strikes, gives us leverage in negotiations, and helps us see what our enemies are up to. Our European and other partners have access to intelligence we don’t. This is a huge benefit to us. It informs our policies and decision making, contributes to military planning, and allows us to focus resources elsewhere.
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Stepping away creates opportunities for our adversaries
Vance, Hegseth, and others in the Signal chat were particularly annoyed about their upcoming strike against the Houthis because it was meant to protect the Suez Canal, and the Europeans send more trade through that passage than the U.S. does.
The U.S. is the leader among our allies in protecting maritime trade routes because we are the only ones capable of doing it. But we achieved that capability because of our alliances, and being the leader gives us leverage. Free trade is the foundation of America’s prosperity. It helped make the dollar one of the world’s strongest currencies.
America protecting trade routes also means someone else is not controlling those routes – China, for example. Everywhere we step away, China and other adversaries fill that gap, often promoting values that are contrary to ours. This in turn can lead to destabilization and conflict. Failed or failing states create security issues that may later require military intervention—which is costly—or domestic cleanup. It is easier and cheaper to fight ebola in an isolated area of Africa than to wait until it turns into a pandemic in America. It is also the right thing to do. And doing the right thing, promoting our values, helps us win friends.
Strength In numbers
We need allies. Even a superpower cannot go it alone, and certainly not if it expects to remain a superpower.
After the September 11, 2001 attacks, the U.S. became the first (and thus far only) country for which NATO invoked Article 5, and its provision that an attack on one member nation is an attack on all. Several European nations then joined our forces in Afghanistan and Iraq. What happens when the next crisis comes? Do we plan to go it alone?
In the end, this is about influence. Having positive influence in the world benefits us. It gives us control. It has also given us unparalleled prosperity. It has given us everything that most Americans tend to think makes America great.
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