Almost as old as NATO itself is the "disarray" that seems to haunt its councils. Yet allied differences are not so much symptoms of any deep-rooted disunity as the result of NATO's military effectiveness. Because they know that they are secure behind the U.S. nuclear shield, few European nations are eager to build up conventional forces for which they see little use. At the same time, as they have grown more powerful and prosperous, Europeans have come to question total U.S. control of nuclear weapons for the foreseeable future. Thus dependence breeds mistrust.
Charles de Gaulle is not the only...