Muriel Domenach, France's former ambassador to NATO, posted on X that "with all due respect to the NATO Secretary General, this is not: the right question ... the right answer: brandishing European weakness to secure the U.S. guarantee is an outdated approach and sends the wrong message to Russia."

Without mentioning Rutte specifically, French Armed Forces Minister Catherine Vautrin told French radio that "what we see today is the necessity of NATO's European pillar." The idea of making Europeans collectively stronger within the military alliance, first pitched by France a few years ago, is now endorsed by other countries including Germany.

MEP Nathalie Loiseau, a former French minister who now sits in the committee where Rutte made the controversial remarks, echoed Barrot's criticism: "It was a disgraceful moment. Rutte thinks that being rude with Europeans will please Trump. We don't need a Trump zealot. NATO needs to rebalance between US and European efforts."

Every coin has two sides. While it's good that Europe is moving towards taking a stronger role for its own security, this could potentially come back to haunt American in a few decades...

*America

Damn typoes.

The Russian Federation has a pipeline of slave soldiers from the "global south" to use in their war of attrition against the rest of Europe. They keep them in line by "snow boarding" them. If you haven't seen the pictures, involves stripping them down, tying them upside down to a post in the cold winter, and forcing snow into their noses and mouths. It works to deter Russian defectors as well.