NATIONAL SECURITY/NATO: “E[uropean] publishing saw a sensational hit in the 1840s with ‘The Mysteries of Russia’, a Frenchman’s take on the supposed brutality of Slavic life. Its most lurid tale described a Russian peasant fleeing wolves on a sled, who—unable to outpace the slavering pack—escaped by hurling her children, one by one, to their deaths. Jump to 2017 and modern-day European leaders fear that President Donald Trump takes a rather similar view of allies, notably those in the 28-member NATO military alliance. European politicians, generals and diplomats have scrutinised Mr Trump’s interviews and speeches and concluded that, by instinct at least, should they ever hold America back, he sees allies as potential burdens fit to be thrown, wailing, into the void.”
– The Economist, “Donald Trump seems to see allies as a burden,” The Economist Magazine, Feb. 4, 2017