Episode Notes:

The Trump administration keeps threatening to pull troops out of Europe to pressure allies into spending more on defense, but what if the verbal threats are standing between Europe and actually strengthening its defense? Ben Friedman and Moritz Graefrath argue that bluffing gets Washington the worst of both worlds: European governments get by with simply upping their defense budgets, nothing changes, and trust continues to erode on both sides. A real drawdown, they say, would finally force Europe to build serious defenses of its own, while freeing up American resources and attention for other priorities. This episode of The Insider digs into an argument that cuts against the conventional wisdom on the transatlantic alliance.

Image: The White House via Wikimedia Commons