This paper will focus on two principal themes. First, it will look at the extent to which US security interests are diverging with those of its European allies. It will look at security in a broad sense and analyse whether America no longer sees its security interests as being at stake in Europe. Is Europe now safe? Is America no longer prepared to put its resources at risk for what it perceives to be European interests? Does Libya serve as the model for future European military operations?
Second, the paper will investigate how Europe and American strategic thinking and military capabilities have been diverging. America has grown increaingly critical of the lack of European spending on defence. It has led to a widening gap in the capabilities that the two sides have at their disposal. American spending has given them the ability to conduct military operations in different sorts of ways to those of the Europeans.
