From the New York Times: There are, however, two hurdles Mr. [Guido] Westerwelle will have to jump. One is Europe’s two nuclear powers, Britain and France, which are afraid that after the U.S. arms are gone, their own nuclear weapons will come under scrutiny.

The other is resistance inside the U.S.-led NATO military alliance. Many member states are afraid that if the United States does pull all its weapons out from Germany and the rest of Europe, there would be negative consequences. The most important one is alliance solidarity, which is fragile enough because of the war in Afghanistan. “The weapons are the foundation of that solidarity. Take them away and what have we left?” said a NATO diplomat who requested anonymity because the issue is so sensitive in the 28-member alliance…

“If you remove the weapons, the whole equation between Europe and the U.S. could change,” said Professor Joachim Krause, director of the Institute for Security Policy at Christian Albrecht University in Kiel. “That is why some of Mrs. Merkel’s Atlanticist conservatives have never wanted to touch the issue. But even the conservatives are beginning to change their minds about the utility of these weapons.” (photo: Phil Schmitten/DoD)