The United States is losing global leadership role, Spiegel magazine writes following the Munich Security Conference.
Speaking at the conference in Munich, U.S. Vice President Mike Pence boasted about "renewed American leadership on the world stage," while talking up sanctions against Russia, tough tariffs against China, 'confrontation' with Iran, and US intentions to withdraw from the INF Treaty.
Pence boasted that thanks to "the leadership of President Donald Trump," the U.S. was "stronger than ever before, and…leading on the world stage once again."
In reality, Spiegel noted, the world Pence was describing was a "strange parallel world" which "has little to do with reality." "America is not leading; it is retreating. Other powers are moving into the vacuum left by Trump's erratic 'America First' policy — China, Russia, but also Iran. And the U.S. is not leading, but giving instructions," the magazine wrote.
According to Spiegel, Pence used his appearance at Munich to issue more "orders" to Germany and other European NATO members, including the need to meet the alliance's 2%of GDP defence spending targets.
