Letters | Russia’s Ukraine invasion has brought US, UK role in Europe back to life
- Readers discuss how Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has revived Nato’s standing in Europe and how democracies and their institutions have failed in their aims
New life has been breathed into Nato, an alliance that seemed to be on the brink of dissolution just weeks ago. Some of the leading French presidential candidates have openly campaigned for France’s withdrawal from Nato. British forces had already withdrawn from Germany, ending a presence on German soil that had continued since the end of World War II.
American presence has waned during the past few decades. American troops have been cycled into the Middle East, and the unpopularity of the Iraq war left some in Europe feeling hostile to the US military.
However, this decades-long decline of American influence in Europe, along with the economic tensions that sprang up in the wake of Brexit, has been undone. Europeans can no longer be suspicious of Washington or bitter about Brexit. As all eyes are on Moscow, such issues will be left on the back burner.
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In historic first, Nato sends ‘Response Force’ to eastern Europe in reaction to Russia’s invasion