On October 1, Andrew Michta, director and senior fellow in the Scowcroft Strategy Initiative published a New Atlanticist piece for the Atlantic Council titled “The US should help NATO allies that help themselves.” It argued that the United States should work more closely with and reward allies that spend more money on defense, shoulder the risk of their own defense, and execute on NATO’s regional plans with real exercised capabilities. He pointed out that Washington must make it clear to allies who don’t contribute as much to collective defense that their current defense spending will not do. Michta also noted that it is important for the United States to strategize its base structure and force posture in Europe to reflect a new reality of collective deterrence and defense.
The transformed geostrategic map of Europe requires that the United States revise old assumptions when it comes to working with NATO allies. At a time when threats to collective security are rising and many allies have yet to match their rhetoric with action, Washington needs to deepen its cooperation with those NATO members that put a premium on doing rather than talking.