New era demands a different deterrent mindset

“Events, dear boy, events,” responded Prime Minister Harold Macmillan when asked what was the greatest challenge for a statesman. In the case of UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, who headed across the Atlantic for a key meeting with President Trump this February, that quote surely remained highly relevant. For, in the space of a few weeks an earthquake had rocked US and European relationships as Trump doubled down on his policy of forcing the latter, and more particularly NATO, to recognise it could no longer rely on American military muscle to safeguard its security. But, what Trump says an…