Germany recommits to European, global security

The Landing Zone, September 3, 2025
Lord Hastings Ismay, NATO’s first secretary general, famously said NATO’s mission is “to keep the Russians out, the Americans in and the Germans down.” Seventy-five years later, two-thirds of Ismay’s formula remains unchanged: NATO still seeks to keep the Russians out of alliance territory and still seeks to keep the Americans in the alliance. But one part is different: Today’s NATO wants – and needs – Germany to step up…