EU faces defence challenge as US looks to Asia

"Contributing troops to these conflicts has been very financially and politically expensive for European countries," says Tomas Valasek of the CER. "There will be some who will rejoice that the US has in effect said that it plans to do fewer 'nationbuilding' wars.""If the economic crisis continues to deepen, you cannot exclude the possibility of autocratic, xenophobic or extremist regimes potentially coming to power in parts of Europe," said Valasek at the CER in London. "In that case, I think the US would find itself getting involved in Europe once again."