Henry Kissinger, the late US secretary of state, once reportedly remarked that “to be an enemy of America would be dangerous, to be a friend would be fatal”.
That observation, while made in the context of America’s allies in the Vietnam War, has gained fresh resonance at the recently concluded Munich Security Conference, where current Secretary of State Marco Rubio artfully delivered a message that was, to all intents and purposes, an iron fist in a velvet glove.
The year 2025 had been an especially difficult one for Europe’s relationship with the US. Trade tensions escalated amid a slew of tariffs and counter-tariffs. At the Munich conference that year, US Vice-President J.D. Vance warned Europe it was essentially on the path to civilisational self-destruction – a view that turned up again in the latest edition of the US National Security Strategy.
Against the backdrop of Russia’s brutal war against Ukraine, the Trump administration added to the anxiety of its European allies with its questioning of NATO commitments. As the continent struggled to cope with its profound sense of abandonment, President Donald Trump did what was hitherto thought unimaginable – he laid claim to territory of a NATO ally, and threatened to use force if necessary to secure Greenland.
While Mr Trump subsequently walked back his provocative remarks, the damage was already done. As the Malay idiom cautions: “kerana mulut, badan binasa” (because of the mouth, the body perishes).
It is against this series of shocks and setbacks to the transatlantic alliance that Mr Rubio’s speech at Munich must be understood and processed.
For further reading, please visit The Straits Times here, where this article was first published on 20 Febrary 2026.