The Trump administration just released its "National Security Strategy of the United States of America" and it is fair to say that it is both explicit in what it wants and implicit in what it hopes it will get when it looks at the world today and the world of tomorrow. The NSS is a document that has many contributors, but is approved by the White House (the president) as the roadmap for the U.S. to follow in planning its efforts to effect the kind of change it hopes will assure America's safety and security and its prosperity at home and abroad. It is both a "think piece," a "wish list" and an "actionable document" of the current administration and is a kind of SWOT analysis that is based on an array of specific reasonable hopes. The assumptions for success, failure and projections of the consequences of both are nowhere in this document. Those reside in the detailed analyses of the intelligence community and other government agencies. Depending on which part of the world you live in, you will probably have a strong opinion on the administration's positions and motives for speaking of your country or continent the way it does. This is perfectly understandable and justifiable. What is notable and should be refreshing with the NSS is its forthrightness and clarity, especially since so many government reports tend to mince words or hide behind generalities or theoretical postulations. This NSS is a wake-up call for friends and foes alike that the paradigm of traditional diplomacy has shifted to "straight talk" and probably won't be walked back anytime soon. The world just has to deal with the new reality that is the Trump administration and accept its vow to keep America first on its list of priorities when it comes to safety, security, and competitiveness. For many Europeans, the NSS has left them wondering if they are just another chess piece on the Americans' multi-dimensional geopolitical chessboard. The report has already, in just a few short days, precipitated some fundamental questions about America's intentions. The most serious one is: "Is America still our friend or is it simply an interested party with a pro forma membership in NATO"? Another is: "Can smaller countries such as Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, and even Denmark, for example, expect the U.S. to honor its obligations under Article 5 of the NATO charter to come to their aid, or will the NATO Council drag its feet since the decision to defend is essentially a political one"? The emperor's new clothes are real; they are just transparent. Before we raise the threat level of our national worry machine, it is best to read the entire section "C" on pages 25-27, which bears the headline "Promoting European Greatness."  If after reading it, you still feel that the U.S. is moving towards a breakup with the E.U., no amount of continued dialogue will convince you that the opposite is true. What the NSS actually does is strip away the diplomatic niceties and speak openly about how the administration views the E.U.'s perceived failings and what kind of long-term impact those failings will have on the individual member countries and their ability to chart a national course that may be at odds with the E.U.'s. The section talks about helping Europe, not hindering it in its evolution as a continental power. In a recent debate on the Danish television channel DR2, the question "Does Trump wish us well?" came up. The views ranged from a definite 'no' to an absolute 'yes.' This surprised me a bit, as I half-expected greater consensus among debaters against Donald Trump after observing the Danes' outright animus and distrust of the president since I arrived here in 2024. Instead, I heard some very reasoned remarks that interpreted the NSS on Europe as a positive declaration of faith in the U.S./European relationship instead of a petition for divorce. This gave me some hope that maybe there were leaders here who had understood the depth and breadth of our relationship and were willing to risk being called a "Trump sympathizer" by their fellow men for daring to look at our shared history and commitment to defend liberty before making categorical statements that America is not our friend. Security starts at home. Everyone who owns their own home understands the concept of private property and knows that once you open the door and invite someone in, you have a responsibility to keep them safe while they're in your home. That's the social and legal compact we all share. If someone breaks into your home and ties up your children while they ransack your house looking to steal from you, your responsibility changes (at least it does in the United States). They are now an intruder and must be treated as such. The same is true of nations and their borders. For four long years, the United States was a turnstile for millions of immigrants who broke in to the country and then demanded to be allowed to stay while they enjoyed many of the same rights as American citizens. Their children got free public school education. Their families used American emergency rooms to obtain free medical care while legal residents paid for the same services. In some American cities, illegal immigrants were actually allowed to live free in hotels and get free meals. The American justice system was also under attack by "social justice" groups demanding cashless bail, while some cities' and states' attorneys actually downgraded felonies to misdemeanors or even refused to prosecute thieves because the items they stole from stores were under a certain dollar value, or because the accused was an illegal immigrant and subject to deportation upon conviction. A few rogue prosecutors even created new crimes out of whole cloth to enable the prosecution of a former and soon-to-be-elected president. Violent protests against immigration officials and other government entities were allowed by blue-city mayors until National Guard troops were called in. Supreme Court Justices' homes were also the target of left-wing protestors who objected to court rulings and were not stood down by authorities, even though their actions were illegal. Robberies and car-jackings in the nation's capital were commonplace until the Guard was called up to secure the public streets. Murders and drug abuse have made many American neighborhoods off-limits, and in some cases, local authorities have turned their backs on policing, preferring instead to support abolishing the police! Americans are fighting a two-front war on crime. One is domestic, the other is international, and it cannot waver in its efforts. While everyone knows that the world has become a more dangerous place to live, we cannot afford to ignore certain incontrovertible facts, one of those is that evil is real and that some countries, leaders, ideologies and policies are antithetical to freedom, and if we want to combat them effectively, we must call them out for who and what they are. The United States is not an enemy of Europe. It is a concerned citizen raising important questions about Europe that need to be debated, openly and honestly. If we in Europe are not willing to do so, then we have only ourselves to blame if our relationship with the United States suffers. Stephen Helgesen is a retired American diplomat specializing in international trade. He has lived and worked in 30 countries over the course of 25 years under the Reagan, G.H.W. Bush, Clinton, and G.W. Bush administrations. He is the author of fourteen books, seven of them on American politics, and has written more than 1,500 articles on politics, economics, and social trends. He now lives in Denmark and is a frequent political commentator in Danish media. He can be reached at: [email protected]. Image: Pexels // Pexels License