How Europe Fights Russia Without the U.S.

NATO’s future remains in doubt as Donald Trump again threatens to pull U.S. troops from Europe. But the practical stakes of these debates aren’t always clear. What military capabilities does Europe stand to lose? How long would it take to replace them? And how might Russia exploit any gap? Sophia Besch, a German expert on European defense policy who has worked inside NATO, joins The World Unpacked to explore U.S. pullout scenarios — up to and including Russian attacks on the Baltics. She and host Jon Bateman dig into Europe's historic rearmament, its chance to invent a new way of war, and why peace in Ukraine could unleash new dangers. Find the episode transcript and streaming audio, and get the show direct to your inbox, here: https://carnegieendowment.org/preview... Host: Follow Jon on X: https://x.com/JonKBateman Guest: Sophia Besch: https://x.com/SophiaBesch 00:00 Trump Threatens NATO Again 02:13 What Does "Less America" Mean? 05:42 Europe Is Racing Against Time 09:35 Why the Baltics Are NATO's Weakest Point 15:48 America's Role as NATO's "Brain" 18:21 The Military Capabilities Europe Would Lose 20:21 Can Europe Create Its Own Way of War? 23:34 AI and the Future of European Defense 27:38 Who Would Lead Europe Without the U.S.? 38:17 Europe's Massive Rearmament 43:36 Can Europe Replace American Military Power? 50:33 Why Putin May Have Miscalculated 54:29 The Years That Matter Most Like and subscribe to our channel: https://bit.ly/38sljlH The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace generates strategic ideas and independent analysis, supports diplomacy, and trains the next generation of international scholar-practitioners to help countries and institutions take on the most difficult global problems and advance peace. Visit our website: https://carnegieendowment.org/ Follow us on X: https://x.com/CarnegieEndow Follow us on Instagram:   / carnegieendow