NATO and Libya: The Dawn of European Security Management, a Warning, or Business as Usual?

In January 2012, President Barack Obama put Europe on notice regarding future security management. Launching the United States Strategic Defense Guidance, he announced a strategic “pivot” for the United States through “strengthening our presence in the Asia Pacific.” Importantly, he added a significant caveat, “We’re going to continue investing in our critical partnerships and alliances, including NATO, which has demonstrated time and again—most recently in Libya—that it’s a force multiplier.”1 However, in emphasizing the United States will not abandon NATO, the guidance was still clear; the United States saw Europe as a partner to help as well as be helped, stating, “Most European countries are now producers of security rather than consumers of it.”2