SOLDIERS OF the 'Black Jack' brigade ritually(仪式般地，按照惯例) furled and packed their unit's colours(军旗，队旗) in Fort Hood, Texas in early May, as the tank unit's 4,000 troops prepared to deploy to Poland to help defend NATO against the Russian threat. "When an armoured brigade combat team deploys forward, it sends a clear and unmistakable signal," said General Thomas Feltey, the division's commander, at the ceremony. Less than two weeks later America sent the opposite signal: the deployment was scrapped(取消，废弃). It was the second time this month that Donald Trump had announced cuts to America's military presence in Europe, reflecting his anger at the lack of European support for his war in Iran. On May 22nd America is expected to announce a reduction in the forces it pledges(承诺，保证) in the event of an attack, Reuters reports.
5月初，得克萨斯州胡德堡，'黑杰克'旅的士兵们按照仪式收起并打包了部队的军旗，此时这个坦克部队的4000名士兵正准备部署到波兰，帮助北约防御俄罗斯的威胁。'当一个装甲旅战斗队向前部署时，它发出了一个明确无误的信号，'该师指挥官托马斯·费尔蒂将军在仪式上说。不到两周后，美国发出了相反的信号：部署被取消。这是本月唐纳德·特朗普第二次宣布削减美国在欧洲的军事存在，反映了他对欧洲国家不支持他对伊朗战争的愤怒。路透社报道，预计美国将在5月22日宣布减少其在发生袭击时承诺投入的部队。
Mr Trump has been casting doubt on(质疑，对…表示怀疑) his commitment to NATO and its Article 5 mutual-defence clause since the start of his second term. That has prompted(促使，引发) a long-overdue(早该发生的，拖延已久的) increase in European defence spending. Yet in recent months he has gone further, announcing unexpected troop reductions and cancelling the deployment to Germany of a cruise-missile unit that was to plug(填补，堵住) an important gap in Europe's defence. The rapid drawdown has upended(颠覆，推翻) Europeans' assumption(假设，假定) that they would have time to build up(建立，增强) their own forces and replace vital American 'enablers', such as intelligence and surveillance(监视，监控) assets. America's huge expenditure of missiles in Iran is delaying shipments to European allies and Ukraine, as it restocks(补充库存，补货).
自第二任期开始以来，特朗普先生一直质疑他对北约及其第五条共同防御条款的承诺。这促使欧洲大幅增加国防开支，这是早该做的事情。然而，近几个月他变本加厉，宣布了意料之外的部队削减，并取消了向德国部署一个巡航导弹部队的计划，该部队本应填补欧洲防御的一个重要缺口。快速的撤军颠覆了欧洲人的假设，即他们有时间建立自己的部队并取代美国的关键'赋能因素'，如情报和监视资产。美国在伊朗大量消耗导弹，导致其向欧洲盟友和乌克兰的交付延误，因为美国正在补充库存。
Some in NATO, shocked by Mr Trump's threat in January to seize(夺取，强占) Greenland from Denmark, worry not only that America might sit out a war with Russia, but that it could actively thwart(阻挠，挫败) other members' responses. The possibility is seen as remote(遥远的，微小的). But interviews with senior officers and defence officials from several NATO countries reveal for the first time how seriously they take the risk. Some European armed forces are making secret plans to fight not just without America's help, but without much of NATO's command-and-control infrastructure. "The Greenland crisis was a wake-up call(警钟，警示)," says a Swedish defence official. "We realised we need a Plan B."
北约内部的一些人，被特朗普1月份威胁从丹麦夺取格陵兰岛所震惊，不仅担心美国可能置身于与俄罗斯的战争之外，还担心它可能积极阻挠其他成员国的应对。这种可能性被视为渺茫。但来自多个北约国家的高级军官和国防官员的采访首次揭示了他们对此风险的重视程度。一些欧洲武装部队正在制定秘密计划，不仅要在没有美国帮助的情况下作战，还要在没有北约大部分指挥和控制基础设施的情况下作战。'格陵兰危机敲响了警钟，'一位瑞典国防官员说。'我们意识到我们需要一个B计划。'
