portance of European allies would wane. This situa-
About the author
tion has not materialized. The relevance of and commitment to the NATO Alliance for the United States has, in turn, risen in the past year, by events in Eastern Europe and the Middle
Philip Chr. Ulrich holds an M.A. in American Studies from the University of Southern Denmark. He analyzes American foreign and defense policy for the
East. This in turn means a more central and relevant
Danish website Kongressen.com. He has previously
role for the European allies.
worked as head of section at the Royal Danish De-
The United States again needs NATO to bolster its stance against Russia, something which the Obama administration had hoped would not be necessary following the end of the Cold War. The implication for NATO of the Russian behavior in Eastern Europe,
fence College, where he published several briefs on U.S. defense and foreign policy. He has also completed an internship at the Lessons Learned / Development Section at the Civil-Military Cooperation Centre of Excellence.
Bibliography
and the failing rebalance to Asia, is a return to prominence in U.S. foreign policy. Rather than the U.S. rebalance making Asian allies more central to U.S.
1
Remarks by the President in Address to the Nation on the Way For-
ward
in
Afghanistan
and
Pakistan
(1st
December
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/remarks-president-
foreign policy, NATO is again the central forum for
address-nation-way-forward-afghanistan-and-pakistan
cooperation, dialogue and coalition building for the
2
United States. For the United States, it means that another chance for focusing increasingly on the Asia-Pacific region is limited by unforeseen contingencies12. These contingencies mean that the precondition of a transi-
2009)
Department of Defense, Sustaining U.S. Global Leadership: Priorities for 21st Century Defense (Washington D.C., January 2012), p. 2
3
Ibid, p. 3
4
Mireya Solis: The Containment Fallacy: China and the TTP http://www.brookings.edu/blogs/up-front/posts/2013/05/24-china -transpacific-partnership-solis 5
Marine Rotational Force – Darwin http://www.marforpac.marines.mil/Units/ MarineRotationalForceDarwin.aspx 6
tional period from perpetual conflict to peace is no longer possible. Rather, the U.S. rebalance will continue in a decreased fashion, primarily focused on more limited diplomatic and economic factors. However, the military show of support which several allies in the region has sought after, will be less forthcoming given the economic strains on the U.S. Department of Defense as well as the pull back to regions from which the United States had hoped to increasingly disengage.
Jim Garamone: Panetta Describes U.S. Shift in Asia-Pacific, American Forces Press Service http://www.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=116591
7
Remarks by the President on airstrikes in Syria (23rd September 2014) http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2014/09/23/statement -president-airstrikes-syria 8
Kristina Wong: Army plans to shift 3,000 troops to Europe http://thehill.com/policy/defense/229105-army-plans-to-shift-3000-troopsto-europe 9
Alexander A. Burnett: Command assists departure of battle tanks from Europe http://www.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=119695
10 Remarks by President Obama at NATO Summit Press Conference (5th September 2014 http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2014/09/05/remarkspresident-obama-nato-summit-press-conference 1
Statement by the President (7th August 2014) http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2014/08/07/statement -president 2
The United States has attempted twice since the end of the Cold War to shift focus to the Asia-Pacific: Philip Chr. Ulrich: The U.S. Pivot Towards Asia-Pacific. Third Time’s the Charm?, (Copenhagen, Royal Danish Defence College, 2013)
Atlantic Voices, Volume 5, Issue 1
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