Is French President Emmanuel Macron willing to increase his annual defense budget by $60 billion? If not, he should stop seriously suggesting that France will lead the European Union to a credible strategic defense posture outside of the U.S. orbit.

I note this concern in light of the debate over Europe’s security architecture between Macron and German Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer. In a recent Politico article and a separate speech this week, Kramp-Karrenbauer, or AKK, as she is known, argued that the United States remains Europe’s indispensable ally. She noted that: