They spent decades calling us unsophisticated. Now they’re asking “What is our Plan B?” Welcome to reality.
Der Spiegel, the German newsmagazine, published a remarkable piece this week. They obtained notes from a confidential call between European leaders—Merz, Macron, Zelenskyy, von der Leyen, Frederiksen—and the picture they paint is one of European helplessness in the face of American resolve. “What is our Plan B?” the Danish prime minister asked. No one had an answer.
Der Spiegel frames this as tragedy. I frame it as the inevitable result of 80 years of outsourcing your security to someone else.
The Mask Comes Off
The article describes European leaders expressing “profound helplessness” and “distrust toward Washington.” Chancellor Merz reportedly said the Americans are “playing games” with Europe and Ukraine. French diplomats are sighing that they are “alone.”
Good. Now they understand what it feels like to be taken seriously.
For decades, these same leaders lectured us about diplomacy, multilateralism, soft power. They built welfare states while we built carrier groups. They held summits while we held the line. And the whole time, they assumed we would always be there—not as partners, but as insurance policies they never had to pay premiums on.
Der Spiegel quotes the new American security strategy, horrified that it describes “the outsized influence of larger, richer, and stronger nations” as “a timeless truth of international relations.” They call this a “paean to national egoism.” I call it an accurate description of how the world actually works. The Europeans preferred a fantasy where strength was optional. Reality has other plans.
European Defense Was Always Helpless
What strikes me most about the Der Spiegel piece is the tone of betrayal. They genuinely believed the transatlantic relationship was about shared values rather than shared interests. They thought NATO was a friendship bracelet rather than a security arrangement that required contributions from both sides.
The article complains that Trump sees European right-wing movements as “cause for great optimism.” It complains that his administration views international institutions as “parasites.” It complains that Washington is negotiating with Moscow without European involvement.
Each complaint reveals the same underlying assumption: that Europe was entitled to American protection regardless of whether Europe was willing to protect itself. That assumption was always wrong. Now it’s being corrected.
Strength Clarifies
I woke at 4:15 this morning and read the Der Spiegel piece twice. Patton was already alert. He always knows when something significant is happening in the international order.
The Europeans are experiencing what I call a “strength clarification event.” When someone stronger than you makes clear they have their own interests, you suddenly realize you should have been developing your own capabilities all along. Frederiksen’s “What is our Plan B?” is the sound of that realization arriving about twenty years late.
Der Spiegel calls Trump and Putin “partners in malice.” What I see is something simpler: two leaders who understand that strength is the only language that matters in international relations. The Europeans spent decades pretending otherwise. Now they’re learning.
The article ends with European leaders praising Trump’s “mediation efforts” in public while privately calling him a rival. That gap between public performance and private desperation tells you everything. When your strategy is hoping someone else solves your problems, you don’t have a strategy. You have a dependency.
Welcome to a world where strength matters. Some of us have been here the whole time.
About the Author
