In the coming decades, Europe’s influence on affairs beyond its borders will be sharply limited, and it is in other regions, not Europe, that the 21st century will be most clearly forged and defined. Certainly, one reason for NATO’s increasing marginalization stems from the behavior of its European members. With NATO, critical decisions are still made nationally; much of the talk about a common defense policy remains just that — talk. There is little specialization or coordination. Missing as well are many of the logistical and intelligence assets needed to project military force on distant battlefields. With the Cold War and the Soviet threat a distant memory, there is little political willingness, on a country-by-country basis, to provide adequate public funds to the military.
在接下来的几十年里，欧洲对境外事务的影响力将会锐减，推动和定义21世纪的将是世界上的其他地区，绝非欧洲。诚然，北约不断被边缘化，部分原因归咎于它的欧洲成员国。在北约，各国独自做出重大决断;关于共同防御政策的谈判，到目前依然仅仅还是个谈判;分工协调微乎其微;将军事力量投放到遥远战场所需的许多后勤保障和情报资源也处于缺失状态。冷战和苏联威胁都已成为遥远的回忆，各国没有多少政治意愿向军队提供充足的公共资金。
Political and demographic changes within Europe, as well as the United States, also ensure that the transatlantic alliance will lose prominence. In Europe, the E.U. project still consumes the attention of many, but for others, especially those in southern Europe facing unsustainable fiscal shortfalls, domestic economic turmoil takes precedence. No doubt, Europe’s security challenges are geographically, politically and psychologically less immediate to the population than its economic ones. Mounting financial problems and the imperative to cut deficits are sure to limit what Europeans can do militarily beyond their continent. It is true that the era in which Europe and transatlantic relations dominated U.S. foreign policy is over.
欧洲内部及美国在政治和人口结构方面的变化也注定了这个跨大西洋联盟会失去重要性。在欧洲，欧盟一体化方案仍然得到了词多国家的关注，但是对于其他国家来说，特别是对于欧洲南部出现难以为继的财政赤字的国家来说，国内的经济乱象却是在第一位的。无疑，欧洲的安全难题在地理、政治和心理方面对于欧洲人的影响都不像经济难题那么紧迫。日益突出的金融问题和削减赤字的必要性必定会限制欧洲各国在欧洲大陆以外所能采取的军事行动。确实，欧洲和跨大西洋关系主导美国外交政策的时代已经结束。
