There is no shortage of uncertainties amid the fighting in the Persian Gulf: Is it over? Who won? Will Iran emerge stronger or weaker? How badly will the world economy be damaged? Yet two things are clear: The conflict dealt a deep, perhaps lasting blow to American global leadership, and it is straining an already troubled transatlantic relationship—to the detriment of both the U.S. and Europe.
But there may be one upside: The rift between the U.S. and Europe could accelerate continental efforts to prepare for a future in which America no longer provides a reliable security guarantee.
American supporters of the Iran War are furious with Europe. My email inbox is filled with messages from friends who see the continent’s refusal to join the fighting as a craven betrayal of the NATO alliance that has kept peace in Europe since the end of World War II. “Alienation,” “frustration,” “outrage,” “disgust”: the language grew sharper as the weeks wore on—and of course, no one was madder than President Donald Trump.
One Republican ally who spoke to the president in mid-March told the press he had “never heard him so angry.” “COWARDS,” Trump bellowed on social media. “You’ll have to start learning how to fight for yourself,” he warned Europeans, “the USA won’t be there to help you anymore, just like you weren’t there for us.”
But there’s another way to see the widening divide between Europe and Washington.
