Anne Applebaum

So yes, in that context, it felt to many people in the room like a threat.

Let me describe to you a conversation I had with a German member of parliament who I've known for some time. I met him at Munich. I had actually seen him at Munich the year before, and he reminded me that a year ago he said to me, I'm really worried that Europe will now be confronting three autocracies, China, Russia, and the United States.

Let me describe to you a conversation I had with a German member of parliament who I've known for some time. I met him at Munich. I had actually seen him at Munich the year before, and he reminded me that a year ago he said to me, I'm really worried that Europe will now be confronting three autocracies, China, Russia, and the United States.

Let me describe to you a conversation I had with a German member of parliament who I've known for some time. I met him at Munich. I had actually seen him at Munich the year before, and he reminded me that a year ago he said to me, I'm really worried that Europe will now be confronting three autocracies, China, Russia, and the United States.

And this year, he said to me, I said that last year, and this year I can see it coming true. Obviously, the United States is not an autocracy. It's not Russia. It's not China. But the United States is now an adversarial power. It's a country that is not interested in using the alliances that it has built over the last 70 years, 80 years.

And this year, he said to me, I said that last year, and this year I can see it coming true. Obviously, the United States is not an autocracy. It's not Russia. It's not China. But the United States is now an adversarial power. It's a country that is not interested in using the alliances that it has built over the last 70 years, 80 years.

And this year, he said to me, I said that last year, and this year I can see it coming true. Obviously, the United States is not an autocracy. It's not Russia. It's not China. But the United States is now an adversarial power. It's a country that is not interested in using the alliances that it has built over the last 70 years, 80 years.

It is not interested in creating relationships of mutual benefit. It thinks much more like a colonial or an imperial power. It speaks about annexing land and territory. It's a power that Europeans now understand, and I think this weekend really brought that home, is not a friend. And I think that's a really big shift. But this weekend was really an earthquake.

It is not interested in creating relationships of mutual benefit. It thinks much more like a colonial or an imperial power. It speaks about annexing land and territory. It's a power that Europeans now understand, and I think this weekend really brought that home, is not a friend. And I think that's a really big shift. But this weekend was really an earthquake.

It is not interested in creating relationships of mutual benefit. It thinks much more like a colonial or an imperial power. It speaks about annexing land and territory. It's a power that Europeans now understand, and I think this weekend really brought that home, is not a friend. And I think that's a really big shift. But this weekend was really an earthquake.

Everybody understood this is a different kind of America. It's a different kind of American administration. It's not one that we've seen or dealt with before, and we need new attitudes.

Everybody understood this is a different kind of America. It's a different kind of American administration. It's not one that we've seen or dealt with before, and we need new attitudes.

Everybody understood this is a different kind of America. It's a different kind of American administration. It's not one that we've seen or dealt with before, and we need new attitudes.

I don't think anyone expects the U.S. to pull out of NATO because that would create a kind of drama that I don't think President Trump wants. But I think it's important that people understand that NATO is psychological as much as it is an alliance. NATO is a system of deterrence. It's an agreement that, based on the famous Article 5 of the NATO Treaty,

I don't think anyone expects the U.S. to pull out of NATO because that would create a kind of drama that I don't think President Trump wants. But I think it's important that people understand that NATO is psychological as much as it is an alliance. NATO is a system of deterrence. It's an agreement that, based on the famous Article 5 of the NATO Treaty,

I don't think anyone expects the U.S. to pull out of NATO because that would create a kind of drama that I don't think President Trump wants. But I think it's important that people understand that NATO is psychological as much as it is an alliance. NATO is a system of deterrence. It's an agreement that, based on the famous Article 5 of the NATO Treaty,

It's an agreement that if one country is attacked, then all the other countries in the alliance are obliged to consider coming to its defense. Once nobody believes anymore in that promise, then even if NATO still exists as an institution and even if it still has troops on the ground, its value as a deterrent does become more limited.

It's an agreement that if one country is attacked, then all the other countries in the alliance are obliged to consider coming to its defense. Once nobody believes anymore in that promise, then even if NATO still exists as an institution and even if it still has troops on the ground, its value as a deterrent does become more limited.

It's an agreement that if one country is attacked, then all the other countries in the alliance are obliged to consider coming to its defense. Once nobody believes anymore in that promise, then even if NATO still exists as an institution and even if it still has troops on the ground, its value as a deterrent does become more limited.

So I think the fear is that the United States will begin to say and do things that convince Russia that the deterrent is no longer valid. And that simply means they're vulnerable.