The Cost of Freedom

A Cold War Legacy and Europe’s Convenient Amnesia

By Cliff Potts, Editor-in-Chief, WPS News

In the spirit of WPS.News, where we dig into truths with a clear-eyed view of the world, let’s confront a lingering narrative: the United States’ sacrifices during the Cold War secured Western Europe’s freedom, yet some claim America’s missteps in the Near and Middle East outweigh its contributions. This perspective persists only because World War III never ignited—or was confined to the tense, proxy-driven battles of the Cold War. For those of us who lived through that era, the cost of Europe’s safety was deeply personal, and the dismissal of those efforts as mere geopolitics stings of envy and ingratitude.

From 1945 to 1991, the U.S. stood as the shield against Soviet expansion. Billions poured into NATO, with American troops stationed across Germany and a nuclear arsenal poised to deter Moscow’s ambitions. While Western Europe rebuilt under the $13 billion Marshall Plan—equivalent to over $135 billion today—American families carried the burden. As a child in that era, I knew the weight of air-raid drills, the fear of nuclear annihilation, and the economic toll of a nation stretched to keep the Iron Curtain at bay. My parents’ taxes funded bases in Bavaria, not bridges back home. Communities like mine lived under the draft’s shadow, knowing any spark could send our loved ones to war. Europe’s cities flourished while we braced for a conflict that, thankfully, never came.

Yet today, some in Europe highlight America’s interventions—Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan—as evidence of a reckless empire, conveniently sidestepping how these conflicts often aimed to contain Soviet influence or secure global stability. Yes, the U.S. faltered, but its intent was to protect the free world, including a Europe that now critiques from the safety of NATO’s umbrella. This selective amnesia dismisses the sacrifices of American lives, resources, and peace of mind to keep Soviet boots off Berlin and Paris.

I don’t seek gratitude, but truth. Europe’s prosperity wasn’t inevitable; it was underwritten by American resolve. As a child, I felt the cost of that security, as did countless Americans. To brush that aside as mere power plays is not just shortsighted—it’s unfair. Let’s honor the past with honesty, not envy.