The continued presence of US troops in the Balkans has suddenly become a major foreign policy issue in the US election.
Vice-President Al Gore and the US Secretary of State, Ms Madeleine Albright, have sharply criticised a Bush campaign plan to withdraw US troops from peacekeeping in the area, with Mr Gore saying it could lead to "the collapse of NATO and eventually threaten the peace in Europe".
The blunt message of a US demand for a "new division of labour" inside the alliance was sent over the weekend by Governor George Bush's national security adviser, Ms Condoleezza Rice, in an interview with the New York Times.
It is likely to cause alarm among the more Atlanticist of the European powers, such as Britain. In Paris, however, where the idea of an independent European defence capability flourishes, it is expected to be met with some glee and a "we told you so".
A Bush victory would certainly test the seriousness of the current EU plan to establish its own rapid reaction force, which is viewed with scepticism on both sides of the political divide here.
The possibility of some US disengagement from Europe in the event of a win for Mr Bush will scarcely come as a surprise as the Republican candidate has already broadly hinted at it, but Ms Rice, who is expected to be given a senior administration post, has now spelled out a rationale for the policy.
"The US is the only power that can handle a showdown in the Gulf, mount the kind of force that is necessary to protect Saudi Arabia, and deter a crisis in the Taiwan Strait," she said. "And extended peacekeeping detracts from our readiness for these kind of global missions.
"This comes down to function," she said. "Carrying out civil administration and police functions is simply going to degrade the American military capability to do the things America has to do. We don't need to have the 82nd Airborne escorting kids to kindergarten."
Ms Rice's comments reflect a strong sense on the more hawkish right here that the US's European partners are doing little or nothing in the Balkans. Indeed, Mr Bush seemed to be under that misapprehension when he said in his second TV debate with Mr Gore that there was a need to convince "our European friends to put troops on the ground" in the Balkans.
In fact, the US has only 11,400 troops on the ground in Bosnia and Kosovo, a fifth of the NATO force of 65,000.
Mr Gore said yesterday that Ms Rice's remarks demonstrated "a lack of judgment and a complete misunderstanding of history to think that America can simply walk away from security challenges on the European continent which is, after all, a core American interest in the world".
Ms Albright, referring to upcoming local elections in Kosovo, Bosnia and Serbia, said Ms Rice's comments would give support to anti-democratic forces in each of those countries. "Is this the time to be saying we're not sure we're going to stay there?" Ms Albright asked.
