NATO is an illusion by George Friedman

Thanks to giannis for the link!

via Business Insider.

Many Europeans see NATO as the foundation of their national security. In other words, they depend on the United States… the only NATO member with a global military capability.
Now the Europeans worry that the US has lost confidence in NATO and the alliance is no longer the safety guarantor it used to be. And I think they are right.

Then this.

 The Europeans felt that the United States’ power should be available to them through NATO. They now hear the message that the United States is not prepared to spend a vast amount of money on its military and then allow the Europeans a voice in its use.
The issue is not NATO itself, but the defense relationship between Europe and the United States. NATO is simply the old framework for that relationship, which was established after World War II.
At the time, the United States towered over Europe economically and militarily. Europe had little that it could contribute to defense, while the United States had an overriding interest in preventing the Soviets from seizing Western Europe.
Comfortable with the asymmetrical arrangement, the US contributed the bulk of the military power to potentially fight a war on European territory, while Europe took the primary risk.
That was the foundation of NATO. That foundation crumbled long ago, mostly with the fall of the Soviet Union and the signing of the Maastricht Treaty that created the European Union.

Story here and its a MUST READ!