The defence of Europe
I read, with great interest, Kim Darroch’s excellent article on the implications of a second Trump presidency (“Are we ready?”, April). I agreed with virtually everything he said as to what Europe and the west should do over the next few months to prepare for such an eventuality.
There was, however, one important omission in his essay. Darroch covered the consequences of Trump’s hostility to Nato and his implied threats to take the US out of the alliance; and gave good advice as to how to mitigate the inevitable and serious damage. But he did not comment specifically on a potential withdrawal of the US nuclear umbrella that has, through Nato, protected Europe from the threat of Russian nuclear weapons since 1948.