U.S. and NATO Allies Facing Hard Questions.

“The administration is moving away from NATO to coalitions of the willing because of the grudging support from the alliance,” said Stephen Flanagan, senior vice president of the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.

The NATO summit meeting may present a last chance to reunite the alliance. Mr. Obama and his generals have gone out of their way to explain to their European allies the necessity of bringing more security to Afghanistan. “Obama does not want the U.S. to go it alone, fearing it could become a quagmire,” Mr. Flanagan said. “Obama would prefer to have as many allies as possible.”

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