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The Logic of U.S. Engagement 105
America was in Europe” 30 . In reality, the U.S. is continuing with
the Asia pivot, and the Ukraine crisis makes it all the more urgent
that the European allies, via both NATO and the European Union,
be able to stand on their own, without the United States if
necessary. The New York Times reported in spring 2014 at the
height of the crisis over Crimea that:
[…] Mr. Obama next month will head back to Asia, and aides
said he would again promote his policy of pivoting toward the
region he believes represents the future for America’s strategic
priorities. One goal then for Mr. Obama, aides said, is to
challenge Europe to take more of a leadership role itself, a
familiar theme from Washington but one infused with a new
urgency by the Ukraine crisis 31 .
The Asia pivot was long mischaracterized by its opponents as a
retrenchment or abandonment of long-standing American allies.
This was never the case. The core assumption – driven by
overstretch abroad and economic crisis at home – is that to meet
new challenges posed by the rise of China, the United States needs
to hand over lead responsibility to capable allies for their
immediate security while being supported by the United States.
Europe was in a particularly good position to find ways to better
pool resources. The Eurozone crisis remained (through 2015) the
primary challenge affecting European stability, not eastern
Ukraine. Combined with deep austerity, this meant that European
nations had little incentive to increase defense spending. However,
they are incentivized to better pool their capabilities and to
coordinate effectively on major European diplomatic initiatives.
There were several core elements of the allied response to Russia
within this broader strategic context: signaling strong and united
political isolation of Russia for its illegal annexation over Crimea;
gradually raising economic pain via sanctions which, combined
with capital flight and dropping oil and gas prices, had a
30 F. Hiatt, “U.S. Ground Troops Going to Poland, Defense Minister Says”, The
Washington Post, 18 April 2014.
31 M.D. Shear, P. Baker, “Obama Renewing U.S. Commitment to NATO Alliance”,
New York Times, 26 March 2014.