That's precisely what, it doesn't matter that the invasion is a fantastical idea as long as Europeans believe in it. You're completely correct that US military presence in Europe benefits the US a lot more than it does Europe. NATO is a protection racket the US set up after WW2 to ensure that Europe didn't fall into Soviet sphere of influence. Today, it's ensuring that Europe doesn't get too cozy with Russia and China which would degrade US political influence there.

Current European mainstream is atlanticist to the core, so unless there's major political change in Europe I don't see how it's going to break free.