Putin and NATO: Scorpions in a bottle?
With Vladimir Putin on the prowl, whoever wins in November needs to know more about the history of NATO. Recall that at the highest point of the October, 1973 Yom Kippur War President Nixon stripped almost all the ammunition from U.S. ARmy, Europe, and flew it to Israel. It is a testament to the value of NATO that the Red Army did not come busting through the Fulda Gap and drive on to the French coast, splitting Western Europe in half.
The Soviets failed to take advantage of a virtually disarmed U.S. Army, Europe because NATO stood guard along the other parts of the Iron Curtain. Also, because our engineers seeded the floor of the Fulda Gap with underground nuclear mines. Or so, we wanted the Red Army to think. Anyway, as soon as Israel survived the Yom Kippur War, U.S. Army, Europe’s ammo supplies were restocked.
For sure, NATO has its ups and downs. When the threat from the USSR was great, NATO rose in strength. After the dissolution of the USSR, NATO lost strength. When abused by what President Clinton did with NATO in Serbia and Bosnia, NATO lost its North Atlantic focus. When President Trump questioned NATO’s reason for being, a shocked NATO starting living up to its funding commitments.
So, with NATO standing guard, how did it happen that the fall of the USSR, arguably one of the greatest events in modern history, resulted in a Russian Federation ruled by the dictator Vladimir Putin?
A series of American Presidents were distracted by other events. George H.W. Bush was busy ejecting Saddam Hussein out of Kuwait. President Clinton was busy being impeached over Monica Lewinsky, perjuring himself, and paying
$800, 000 dollars to Paula Jones. Russian President Boris Yeltsin was drunk much of the time. President G.W. Bush was distracted by 9/11, Afghanistan, and Iraq. Thus, the opportunity to gradually shepherd Russia and its many Republics back into the family of civilized nations was lost.
While the rush of the USSR’s former captive nations to gain the protection of NATO is understandable a wiser American policy should have metered the flow of new NATO members in a way that did not alarm the Russian Federation and produce a Vladimir Putin who, according to TASS, is backing Kamala Harris for President.
If re-elected, President Trump needs to gain a better understanding of the role of NATO in Europe. Credit Mike Pompeo and Josh Bolton with urging President Trump to maintain our strong relationship with NATO.
Vladimir Put’s aggression against Ukraine brought NATO’s membership up to 32. Some of the new NATO nations may look feeble in terms of military power but the terrain they occupy is more important, a geographic reality Putin cannot ignore.
Come November, American voters must choose between an avid Capitalist male versus an avid Socialist female. Neither candidate is in the statesmanship league of a Ronald Reagan or a Margaret Thatcher. Pray we do not elect the evil of two lessers.
Suggested reading: Not One Inch: America, Russia and the Making of Post-Cold War Stalemate by Mary E. Surotte, 2022.
©2024. William Hamilton
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