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The US government exerting influence like that over foreign countries is part and parcel of post-war foreign policy. Relatives of important officials getting cushy jobs in the hope that it buys favorable treatment isn't good, but that's about the level of corruption that I've always assumed to be present anyways.
Well, maybe, if US is so corrupt and so crazy it needs to stop telling other countries how to mind their business or conduct their foreign policy.
And other countries should not listen to it. Especially not countries that aspire to some level of good government!
If America has a corrupt and inefficient federal government, of a kind that'd not be tolerated in Europe, 100k dead per year from overdoses, people looting shops in major cities and a homicide rate a nice third world country might be mildly ashamed of, **why do we care about them **?
Europeans need to have their noses rubbed in American dysfunction till they stop giving America attention or caring about it.
**If Americans can't even run their own country, why are we listening to them ? ** Their governance is even more catastrophic than in Europe.
Their army is falling apart due to low retention and recruitment, their defence contractors can't even produce enough ammo, etc.
Europe is big enough and rich enough to deal with Russia...
Europe 'needs' the US same way NY delis used to need the Italian guy in a nice suit who came around from time to time and asked if everything was okay and got some money.
If Europe pitched in with some resources, it could have a perfectly good strategic deterrent in Force de dissuasion.
As much as I dislike French state, the French are orders of magnitude less nuts and hubristic than D.C.
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