June 05, 2026
U.S. Posture Changes and the Future of European Defense Planning
Over the last several weeks, European allies have been trying to interpret a steady stream of signals from Washington about the future of the U.S. military role in Europe, discussions we've covered on the last two episodes of Brussels Sprouts. Beyond the headlines about troop levels, the broader concern is that the United States may be preparing to scale back some of the critical capabilities that have long formed the backbone of NATO’s deterrence posture, including the forces and enablers needed to rapidly reinforce Europe in a crisis. The uncertainty has exposed deeper questions about how decisions on U.S. force posture are made, how allies should prepare for a potentially smaller American role, and whether Europe is moving fast enough to adapt to a more demanding security environment. These debates are particularly acute in Germany, where questions about deterrence, defense spending, and Europe’s long-term security architecture are increasingly central to the political conversation.
To help us dig into these issues and what they all mean for the future of transatlantic security, we’re very happy to welcome Mara Karlin and Liana Fix to this week’s edition of Brussels Sprouts.
Liana Fix is a senior fellow for Europe at the Council on Foreign Relations.
Mara Karlin is a visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution and a professor of practice at Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies.
More from CNAS
-
Window of Opportunity? Deterrence and Moscow’s Calculus
Podcast
In the last episode of Brussels Sprouts, we looked at the dizzying series of U.S. announcements about America’s military posture in Europe. Since then, new reporting has emerg...
By Andrea Kendall-Taylor, Jim Townsend & Jeffrey Edmonds
-
The Coming Crisis of NATO Deterrence
Commentary
If Washington signals an unwillingness to engage in conventional military action to defend Europe, Putin will conclude that Russia has escalation dominance on the continent an...
By Celeste Wallander
-
U.S. Military Posture and Implications for European Security
Podcast
Over the last several weeks, U.S. allies have been trying to make sense of a dizzying series of announcements about America’s military posture and broader role in Europe. Firs...
By Andrea Kendall-Taylor & Jim Townsend
-
What’s Behind the Pentagon Scrapping the Deployment of 4,000 U.S. Troops to Poland?
Video
They were ready to go — until the order came to stand down. More than 4,000 U.S. troops won’t deploy to Poland as planned. Former Pentagon official and Senior Fellow at the Tr...
By Jim Townsend
