Brexit and the Shifting Pillars of NATO /

Will the geographic pillars upon which the Alliance rests, one in North America, the other in Europe, now be replaced by quasi-ideological pillars – the one decidedly intergovernmental and focused on America, Britain and Canada, while the other is increasingly integrated and organized in and by the EU? [...] Indeed, for Washington to continue to act as the security and defence guarantor, chief balancer and leader of Allied powers in Asia-Pacific, the Americas, the Middle East, Europe, as well as the seas between and the space above, the U. S. will need a new NATO with a committed and powerful Britain at its core. [...] In other words, and on the face of it, for all the rhetoric about an enhanced commitment to the defence of Europe through NATO, Britain has sacrificed much of the strategic and political leverage its hitherto excellent armed forces have afforded London, at a time when the need for such influence tools has never been greater. [...] Indeed, the idea is gaining ground in Brussels, as well as certain usual suspect capitals, that now is the moment for the EU to take on more and more responsibility for the bloc’s defence – and that such a defence will, must and can only be achieved by deeper defence integration along the lines of something akin to the failed 1952-1954 European Defence Community. [...] Would the United States, Canada and possibly others such as Australia (and even in time perhaps India) entertain the idea of such a Brexit and the Shifting Pillars of NATO Page 4 By Julian Lindley-French November, 2017 Brexit and the Shifting Pillars of NATO grouping as the Anglosphere?.