ABSTRACT

Since the earliest discussions of the establishment of a security dimension to European policy, the United States has wavered between acceptance and skepticism of the concept. Attempting to subsume a European Security and Defense Identity (ESDI) initially within the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) framework, the United States has been equivocal in its support for the establishment of a European Security and Defense Policy (ESDP) outside of NATO and within the European Union (EU). The United States ambivalence about the longer-term implications of the European initiative has resulted at points in tensions over EU development of an independent force.