Europe Projects Only Weakness to Putin
The region’s subdued military spending hasn’t gone unnoticed in Moscow
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When the Baltic states and Poland recently wanted to show Russia that their countries are under the full protection of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the U.S. sent them about 600 troops for exercises. The gesture was small, but telling: American boots were needed to convince Russia—not to mention Latvians and Poles—of NATO’s commitment. Europe has so hollowed out its collective military and is so divided over how to answer open aggression that it struggles to offer a credible deterrent of its own.
No matter how the crisis in Ukraine unfolds, Europeans need to rethink their defenses. They can no longer afford to rely so heavily on the U.S. Nor can they go on regarding Russia as a benign long-term partner.