America Didn’t Get Attacked… It Got Untrusted

And when your allies stop trusting you, they stop buying from you, sharing with you… and eventually stop needing you

Empires don’t usually collapse with explosions.

They collapse with receipts.

Quiet decisions.
Policy memos.
Cancelled contracts.

And lately?

A whole lot of countries quietly saying…

“Yeah… maybe we shouldn’t depend on the U.S. anymore.”

Not because of war.
Not because of China.
Not because of Russia.

Because of America’s own leadership.

And that’s the part that should make people sit up straight.

This isn’t anti-American sentiment.

It’s risk management.

---

France just pulled the plug

France announced it’s ripping American video platforms out of government offices.

No more Zoom.
No more Microsoft Teams.
No more WebEx.

They’re replacing everything with a homegrown system.

That’s 2.5 million public employees switching off U.S. tech.

Why?

National security.

They don’t want their core communications depending on companies that might get leaned on by Washington politics.

When a country starts treating your software like a liability instead of a tool… that’s not a tech issue.

That’s a trust issue.

---

Germany is doing the same

The German state of Schleswig-Holstein just moved 44,000 government workers off Microsoft.

They’re ditching…

• Windows
• SharePoint
• Microsoft services

And moving to…

• Linux
• open-source tools
• Nextcloud

Translation?

“Thanks, but we’ll run our own stuff.”

---

The moment everyone noticed

Here’s the part that made governments nervous.

When the U.S. sanctioned the International Criminal Court prosecutor…

Microsoft reportedly shut down his email account.

Just like that.

Flip a switch.
Gone.

Imagine you’re a foreign government watching that.

You don’t see “policy.”

You see…

“If Washington gets mad, your systems can disappear overnight.”

No serious country wants that kind of leash around its neck.

---

It’s not just software

Canada is reconsidering buying F-35 fighter jets.

Europe is questioning reliance on Starlink satellites.

Several countries are building independent networks and defense systems.

And here’s the big one…

NATO quietly shifted command structure.

For the first time ever, major operational commands are being led by Europeans instead of Americans.

Let that sink in.

Seventy years of “America leads.”

Now it’s…

“We’ll take it from here.”

That’s not symbolic.

That’s seismic.

---

Public opinion is sliding too

Surveys show nearly three-quarters of Europeans now view the U.S. as unreliable.

Not evil.

Not enemies.

Just…

Unpredictable.

And unpredictability is poison in alliances.

Nobody wants their security tied to a guy who might wake up cranky and start threatening trade partners before breakfast.

---

Here’s the part people miss

This isn’t some coordinated anti-American movement.

It’s math.

If your biggest partner starts acting erratic…

You diversify.

If your supplier might cut you off…

You build your own.

If your “friend” keeps picking fights…

You stop sharing your house keys.

That’s not ideology.

That’s survival.

---

The quiet damage

Here’s what really hurts.

Once trust breaks…

It doesn’t come back with a speech.

Or a handshake.

Or a new election.

It takes decades.

Sometimes generations.

America spent 70+ years building credibility after WWII.

And it’s burning through it in real time.

Not with bombs.

With doubt.

And doubt spreads fast.

---

Bottom line…

When allies start uninstalling your software, cancelling contracts, and building their own systems…

They’re not protesting.

They’re preparing.

That’s not a political story.

That’s a structural shift.

And once countries learn to operate without you…

They usually keep it that way.

Trust is like oxygen.

You don’t notice it until it’s gone.

Then suddenly everything gets harder.

---

The Recap…

France just kicked out Zoom.
Germany dumped Microsoft.
NATO quietly shifted command away from the U.S.

This isn’t protest.
It’s preparation.

Allies don’t do this when they’re confident.
They do it when trust is gone.

---

The Gut-Punch…

You don’t lose the world with a bang.
You lose it when your friends quietly stop depending on you.

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Source credit:

Based on reporting and analysis from Hartmann Report, ABC News, and European government announcements.

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