Kasparov

3.15.2025

In the Footsteps of Charles de Gaulle

Europe Can No Longer Outsource its Security to Uncle Sam

[Original in French, March 14 2025]

We have the latest news from Jeddah: the United States is resuming aid and intelligence sharing with Ukraine. The American and Ukrainian delegations have come up with the framework of a ceasefire to present to the Russians. There is a glimmer of hope that we are on a road toward peace.

But, I would caution against celebrating. While these developments may amount to a tactical victory, they do not change the strategic fundamentals of the situation. American foreign policy under Trump remains alternately isolationist or downright belligerent to its allies. In either case, America is abdicating its role in upholding global democracy, upending the liberal world order we have come to take for granted. And this policy has its roots in previous administrations, both Democratic and Republican, that have for many years now been backing away from America’s commitments around the world.

In light of these changes, Europe must step in and assume greater leadership, whatever happens with this latest ceasefire deal. After the embarrassing Oval Office meeting with Zelensky, we sawe Macron, Starmer, von der Leyen, and their colleagues take some cautious steps toward demonstrating such European resolve. I want to make a case for continuing these efforts—and doing much more.

The crisis is bigger than just Ukraine, about more than tactical decisions of how much money and how many weapons to send. It is a question of the future security infrastructure of the entire continent and, in fact, the globe. The European Union, while a valuable experiment in collective governance, cannot meet these needs in its current form; European leaders need to think beyond its constraints, to unite all those European countries who are willing to participate in safeguarding freedom and democracy.

And while the question of collective defense may be narrower, the broader coalition of democratic countries Europe assembles must stretch far beyond its shores. Europe must seek cooperation with Japan, Australia, and Canada; it must come to serve as a global stronghold of democracy.

Moreover, this crisis is not just a function of Trump as an individual, or even of the current administration that is in power. It is the consequence of a shift that has long been unfolding in American politics, one that started at the other end of the ideological spectrum, under President Barack Obama. During his tenure, America started to reject its global responsibilities, not completely, but in a manner that set a precedent for future leaders. Under Biden, this shift grew more pronounced; we saw, for instance, further appeasement of the Putin regime and the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Trump is just taking this foreign policy approach, of criticizing and pulling back American involvement abroad, to its logical extreme. And he is doing it in his characteristically ugly and blatant way. Europe has had time to watch these currents and to react accordingly, but unfortunately it has not yet mounted an adequate response.

I suppose it is a good thing that the moment of reckoning has come, even if it took the gruesome war in Ukraine and Trump’s temporary abdication of America’s responsibilities there.  There must be an understanding that Europe itself is in a state of war. And it must act accordingly. War is not won by consensus or diplomacy; the enemy can only be defeated by marshalling all available resources against it, and with urgency.

The fact that Europe still has not resolved the problem of sabotage from within, by EU and NATO member Hungary, shows that it is not operating in a mindset of war. Meanwhile, Putin understands the existential nature of the conflict, and is taking advantage of his opponents’ strategic blindness. He has been waging war long before even the all-out invasion of Ukraine in 2022; he has been engaged in a hybrid war fought on all fronts—through propaganda, cyberattacks, and covert operations—long before the West started to wake up.

Sixty years ago General Charles de Gaulle spoke about the danger of Europe becoming completely dependent on the United States for its security. At the time, of course, a robust American military presence on the continent was essential for preserving peace. But de Gaulle’s warning turned out to be quite prescient. Now, the day has come that America no longer wants to be responsible for guaranteeing European freedom, and the leaders of Europe have realized that they can no longer be held hostage by the whims of American politics.

Thanks to de Gaulle, too, France has a unique role to play in any new vision for European security given its nuclear arsenal. It must now demonstrate the political will to create a unclear umbrella for all its European allies who are willing to participate in this new security movement. The safeguarding of European freedom will be, in many ways, a movement of resistance—against the tides of authoritarianism, whether they be in Putin’s Russia or Trump’s MAGA-fied United States. The geopolitical consequences of building, or of failing to build, such movement will have ramifications far beyond the war in Ukraine, for the continuation of freedom and democracy worldwide.

So, I call on European leaders to act now, with boldness and speed. Europe no longer has the luxury of waiting for a new American president to come into power, to step in and restore its security. It must become an independent counterweight to the new and dangerous political forces that threaten the democratic world order. Soft power is not enough—the continent’s politics and values must be defended by military and industrial might.

Perhaps this generation of European leaders did not expect to shoulder such a heavy historical responsibility, but we don’t always get the opportunity to choose our battles. I hope they will live up to the moment. The newly pledged aid to Ukraine amounts only to a drop in the bucket of what is needed to turn the tide of the war.

I remain optimistic about Germany’s new government, with its resolve to fiercely counter Russian aggression; incoming chancellor Mertz has indicated an understanding that Ukraine needs billions to defend herself, not the millions it is receiving now. And Macron acknowledged in Brussels that Europe cannot stop at the measures already taken, that it must proceed to build a robust security infrastructure of its own.

Understanding the gravity of the situation is important, but not enough. I will wait to see Macron and his European allies execute on these words. Not only for the sake of the Ukrainian people hangs, but for the future of the European experiment, and for the preservation of global freedom and democracy for generations to come.

Slava Ukraini! Glory to Ukraine!