Prof Not Ruling Out That ‘Fragmentation of EU & NATO is on the Horizon’

• Prof Not Ruling Out That ‘Fragmentation of EU & NATO is on the Horizon’
  by https://sputniknews.com/
  The Pentagon has commissioned a study on the consequences of withdrawing US forces from Germany. Speaking to Sputnik, Dr. Germano Dottori, a professor of strategic studies at Luiss University in Rome, outlined the broader significance of the study, and what Trump’s vision means for Washington’s NATO allies.
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  Sputnik: What was it that drove Washington to reassess the cost of stationing troops in Germany now? Should this be a matter of concern for the US’s NATO allies?
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  Germano Dottori:I think the White House is looking for options. It’s not a mystery that President Trump advocates for a different US posture in world affairs; he is not a confrontational president, at least not vis-à-vis Russia. He relies more on the economic strength of America than on the US forward military presence.
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  Yes, the attitude [toward NATO] is a problem to all those who still look at international security as if we were living in Cold War times. These days are now over. New realities are emerging, in my opinion.
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  Sputnik: Should it be a matter of concern for US allies in NATO though
  Germano Dottori: I think it could be perceived as a problem, because the European integration process was set in motion during the Cold War era, when the United States provided the Europeans with a strong, uncontested leadership. Now that leadership is over; it’s opened a new competition for leadership in Europe.
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  Each country in Europe is called on to make a choice. The choice will be based in each state on its own national interest, and these interests are competing. So it’s not to be ruled out that the fragmentation of Europe and NATO is on the horizon.
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