Uncertainty about US role complicates planning

Military planning requires a defined mission from a higher echelon, so not knowing whether the US would be absent, fully disengaged, or providing limited support in specific capabilities makes European planning far harder; the new three regional plans (north, east, south) are the most comprehensive since the Cold War, but all US assets within them are now written in pencil rather than pen, requiring Europe to identify critical gaps the US may vacate.