Just as we govern ourselves with a series of checks and balances, we embrace the same idea in international affairs. In short, we do not seek hegemony. We do not have the temperament or the inclination for it, nor do we have the means. In addition, the assertion that our NATO allies are manipulated with impunity by the United States simply is not true. Defensive, democratic alliances do not work that way, either in Europe or elsewhere.
Democratic alliances reach agreement collectively after much give and take.
Massachusetts people like me learn very early in life that people who live north of us in Vermont, Maine, New Hampshire, and our Canadian cousins as well, are just like us. They do not take orders from anyone. Neither do democratic allies like the Norwegians, the Dutch or the Australians, to name but a few. If there are any doubts on that score, just check with any NATO member who ever negotiated a NATO communiqu together with our French allies. Far from exacerbating international tensions, the United States and its alliance partners in Europe and elsewhere have worked very hard to reduce them.