President Trump's recent announcemet that nearly 12, 000 U.S. Troops will be redeployed was both an expected and surprising product of a mixture of leadership personalities, electoral politics and strategic calculations. Wg=hat does it all mean for American and European security? A trio of FPRI scholars - Ronald Granieri, David S. Maxwell and Hajnalka Vincze - discuss the President's decision, as we consider its probable causes and possible long-term effects on American-German relations, NATO, and broader U.S. strategy. ...

In deciding to give an interview to The Economist where he declared NATO “brain dead,” President Emmanuel Macron certainly knew he would spark indignation among his fellow European leaders. He chose to do it nevertheless, not out of proverbial French arrogance, but because he deems it both necessary and urgent. A year away from the next U.S. elections (and with Brexit forever dragging on), an unprecedented window of opportunity is about to slam shut for France. ...