Somehow, I don't think so..........
Defense News:
Panetta: NATO Needs to Join U.S. Rebalance to Asia-Pacific
LONDON — U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta called on NATO to become a more flexible fighting force that can tackle a broad range of conflicts and urged European allies to join the Pentagon’s shift to the Asia-Pacific region......
“Going forward, we also must broaden the scope of our alliance security discussions beyond European and regional issues,” Panetta said at Kings College. “In particular, I strongly believe that Europe should join the United States in increasing and deepening defense engagement with the Asia-Pacific region.”
As budgets tighten across the alliance, Panetta said there is a “window of opportunity to fundamentally reorient” NATO for the future.............
Panetta called on the alliance to broaden its partnerships with the Arab League and Gulf Cooperation Council and increase dialog with the African Union and Economic Community of West African States.
The Pentagon announced a new military strategy last year that calls for greater focus on the Asia-Pacific region. The plan was initially met with cries that the U.S. was abandoning its strongest allies in Europe.
Panetta — on his last leg of a trip that has included stops in Portugal, Spain and Italy – said DoD would continue keep its strong ties with Europe, despite scaling back its permanent presence in the region.
“[T]he United States and Europe should work together and ensure our efforts are coordinated through regular consultations between European and U.S. defense officials focused on Asia-Pacific security issues,” Panetta said. “The bottom line is that Europe should not fear our rebalance to Asia, Europe should join it.”