When Nato celebrated its 50th anniversary at a 1999 summit in Washington, President Bill Clinton sought to assure America’s allies that the end of the cold war would not reduce its commitment to the region. Citing Theodore Roosevelt, he said there was no doubt that the US would continue to play a “great part in the world . . . The only question is whether we will play it well or ill”.
At the time, European leaders could afford to smile at the reference. But as Nato prepares to celebrate its 70th anniversary in Washington this week, the ambivalence of Mr Clinton’s remark seems charged. The commemoration of the 29-member bloc has turned into a public test of the tensions tearing at the transatlantic relationship since Donald Trump took office.
For some European politicians, the president’s sometimes scathing views of their continent are not a blip, but a reflection of a gradual withering of Washington’s commitment to the alliance.