ABSTRACT
This chapter examines West European nations’ contributions to their own defense. It describes the financial costs of withdrawing American forces under a variety of scenarios. The chapter analyzes the strategic wisdom of withdrawing forces from Europe in the hope that we can reconfigure those forces to respond to contingencies outside of Europe. In terms of “outputs,” then, the European record may not be perfect, but it is hardly fair to argue that they are seeking a “free ride” for their defense. If war should occur in Europe, North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) must be able to survive the first days and weeks of combat. A substantial change in the US military role and participation in NATO, if it resulted in a concomitant loss of American political influence in the Alliance, would leave the Federal Republic of Germany as the major economic and conventional military power actor in Western Europe.
