Episode 13: Defending Europe

How the Transatlantic Alliance Protects and Imperils American Security

President Biden traveled to Poland in February after his surprise visit to Kyiv to encourage NATO countries' continued support for Ukraine as the war enters its second year. “Democracies of the world will stand guard over freedom today, tomorrow and forever,” Biden said. The United States reiterated its commitment to defend countries throughout Europe by remarking on the NATO charter: “It’s absolutely clear: Article 5 is a sacred commitment the United States has made. We will defend every inch of NATO.”

While the Bucharest Nine summit focused on the importance of alliances, back at home, their costs and benefits are being debated. One such debate took place at The College of William & Mary’s Global Research Institute between None Of The Above veterans Barry Posen and Kori Schake, with Eurasia Group Foundation’s Mark Hannah as moderator. Are America’s security commitments a good thing, or are they overextending the United States and its finite resources? Should our alliances be permanent, or should they change based on the security environment? We dive into all of this and more on this week’s special episode of None Of The Above.

Barry Posen is the Ford International Professor of Political Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the director of MIT’s Security Studies Program. He is an expert on grad strategy and national security.

Kori Schake is Senior Fellow and Director of Foreign and Defense Policy at the American Enterprise Institute. She has had a long and distinguished career in national security roles in government.

This podcast episode includes references to the Eurasia Group Foundation, now known as the Institute for Global Affairs.