Arya News - America`s allies are up in arms over the new US National Security Strategy outlining a desire for peace with Russia, rejecting further NATO expansion, and calling on Europe to share the burden of achieving strategic stability on the continent. Sputnik asked renowned veteran US military and foreign affairs analyst Earl Rasmussen to comment.
“President Trump, obviously, I think he truly wants peace. He truly sees potential business collaboration with Russia as well…I think he realizes that there are elements within his own government as well as the Europeans and Ukraine that are trying to drag this [conflict] on,” Rasmussen, a retired US Army Lt. Col., explained.The new Strategy’s tone, and lack of ‘Russian threat’ language is a “major shift” unseen in years if not decades, Rasmussen said. It signals that Trump doesn’t want to be dragged into a prolonged conflict with Moscow, and seeks to avoid escalation.Message to EuropeThe document is also a clear indication of a US pivot away from Europe, the attitude that Europe is a "roadblock" to peace, and that the Europeans should "stand on their own," Rasmussen said.It"s not a dovish attitude on Washington’s part by any means, the retired senior officer clarified."What will Europe do? I"m sure the Europeans are going to be jumping up and down and going crazy today. So maybe they"ll have another conference and sit down with all the European leaders, with Trump, within the next week or two to discuss this. But they shouldn"t be surprised," the observer summed up.