At the same time, Europe is getting increasingly dependent on the US' ability to provide security and serve as the guarantor of peace. A more assertive and less predictable Russia reminds Europeans that their lives would be much less convenient if it wasn't for the US nuclear umbrella. Issues such as Iran, piracy, and Palestine are of vital interest to Europeans but rely on a strong US to be resolved. Even the European Union's own attempt to become a producer of security, the European Security and Defense Policy, has proven to be largely dependent on NATO and American assets. If Washington, for a sheer lack of resources, is forced to concentrate its diminished assets on a few select hot issues, Europe, incapable of defending itself, could end up being a significantly less comfy place to live in.

I'll take a stab at translating the bolded parts:

• A more assertive and less predictable Russia: Russia is a threat that can (should) be faced down militarily (just like in the good old days of Ronnie Raygun and Star Wars).

• the US nuclear umbrella: The Americans are willing to defend their allies. The French are not.

• Iran: The State Department's bogeyman of the week is a real and serious threat to the continued survival of Western Civilisation^TM. See the bullet about Russia for how to deal with threats.

• piracy: Europe cannot police the sea lanes (or even our own territory) without American help.

• Palestine: The Muslims in the Middle East are a Threat To Western Civilisation^TM. See above for how to respond to threats.

• rely on a strong US to be resolved: Europe cannot defend our interests without American help (see above) and the US can do no wrong, except for not being strong enough in confronting the Existential Threats To Western Civilisation^TM, and blinking first in the spaghetti-western-style staredown that this reduces foreign policy to.

- Jake

If you only spend 20 minutes of the rest of your life on economics, go spend them here.