They are dragging the U.S. back into its traditional role of guaranteeing the security of Europe, even though the continent is well able to defend itself. Worse, Georgia and Ukraine continue to lobby to join, which would make America less secure.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization was a necessary part of Containment, preventing the Soviet Union, especially when ruled by Joseph Stalin, from dominating or conquering Western Europe. But the necessity for NATO, at least run as North America and The Others, ebbed once Europe recovered from World War II. Alas, later U.S. policymakers ignored President Dwight D. Eisenhower's admonition against permanent troop deployments. Instead of taking over responsibility for their own defense, the Europeans remained dependent on America.

NATO lost its raison d'etre once the Warsaw Pact disbanded and Soviet Union collapsed. As Gertrude Stein said of Oakland, there was no there there. Alliance officials debated a host of possible new duties, such as promoting student exchanges and battling the drug trade. NATO chose to engage in "out of area" activities, that is, wars of choice irrelevant to Europe's defense (Balkans, Libya, Mideast, Afghanistan). Such conflicts have wasted lives and resources with no benefit to Europe and America.