2026 National Defense Strategy Ranks China First, Relegates European Security to 'Enabler' Role

The 2026 National Defense Strategy explicitly ranks defending the US homeland and deterring China as top priorities, with European security reframed as a problem Europe must resource and resolve. NATO's new 5% GDP defense spending benchmark signals a fundamental reordering of burden-sharing. The strategy moves from integrated deterrence to an explicit threat hierarchy, with the US acting as enabler rather than backbone of European sustainment.