Washington Post: Like any dependent partner, however, Germany, can’t make a clean break. It remains heavily reliant on the United States for defense. German political leaders continue to play nice with Trump, while ex-politicians, at liberty to speak more freely, say the goal is to keep Trump and the United States onside for the next five to 10 years, awkward as it may be, while Germany and Europe build up their own military capacity.
Heiko Maas, a former foreign minister under longtime Chancellor Angela Merkel, said the U.S. has historically played the role of the parent and Germany the child. “The relationship should become more like siblings in the future,” Maas told Stark for his book. “And for that, we have to grow up.”…