>in the sense it would basically turn into Russia / China overnight if the US wasn't a military power protecting them
Russia doesn't have any power beyond posturing to overly sensitive Eastern Europeans and China can't project much beyond their loans (and that's if they're willing to spend the little currency reserves they have).
There's quite a bit of resistance to NATO in parts of Europe these days precisely because the US is both unneeded and overbearing.
Russia doesn't have any power beyond posturing to overly sensitive Eastern Europeans and China can't project much beyond their loans (and that's if they're willing to spend the little currency reserves they have).
There's quite a bit of resistance to NATO in parts of Europe these days precisely because the US is both unneeded and overbearing.