Reference News Network, December 9 report: The UK's Financial Times published an editorial titled "The White House and the Western Alliance Split" on December 8. Excerpts of the editorial are as follows:
U.S. national security strategy reports are usually incremental documents. But the 2025 version from the Trump administration marks a complete departure. It may be more of a statement of intent than a policy document. For Europe, it is a serious warning. It breaks the illusion that Vice President Vance's ideologically charged, confrontational vision, first proposed in Munich in February, was a temporary intervention and addressed to domestic audiences. This vision is now being expressed as America's creed.
This document shows that the United States is moving away from the shared values that have supported its policies for 80 years. It portrays the U.S. previous commitment to defending democracy and human rights, globalism, and free trade—seen by many as the source of America's wealth and strength—as a burden that weakens its power. Some alliances support the U.S.-led "rules-based" order, but reliance on these alliances is now considered "undermining our national character."
The new strategy envisions a world divided by great powers, with the United States dominating the Western Hemisphere. Although the strategy states that the United States must prevent other countries from gaining global or (in some cases) regional dominance, it refuses to "waste blood and wealth" for too many such efforts.
The European leaders are most worried that this strategy portrays Europe, which still commits to maintaining its own values and institutions, as a competitor, even a threat, rather than an ally. The United States accuses the EU of undermining political freedom and sovereignty. There is said to be a contradiction between the U.S. officials' complaints that the EU's policies are "at odds with American interests" (such as climate transition and technology regulation), and the fact that NATO, which has many common members, still expects the U.S. to provide protection.
It is somewhat absurd that a document praises the advantages of national sovereignty while advocating direct interference in the sovereignty of other countries by supporting populist and nationalist parties in Europe. However, this strategy lays the groundwork for the split that many Europeans worry about but are unwilling to admit.
Although the national security strategy is not new, it is undoubtedly a heavy blow, further emphasizing the urgency for Europe to take action. (Translated by Ge Xuelai)
Original: toutiao.com/article/7581775456022643263/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author alone.