Ukraine and NATO: The Hour of the Little Guys (and Tough Gals)
zlotx5
Thu, 05/18/2023 – 08:42
As Vladimir Putin’s wanton slaughter in Ukraine continues, each day validates anew the worth of NATO, weakens its detractors, and aligns European Union and NATO policy goals ever more closely. Putin expected to divide Europe and wrongfoot the United States. Instead, he achieved the opposite—even convincing Sweden and Finland that they need to formally join the Atlantic alliance.
Yet, there is much else to the galvanization of an alliance and continent long mocked as moribund by politicos in search of an issue. One of the keys to strengthening NATO after February 2022 has been a moral rebalancing between member states, the revelation of military neglect and weakness in, above all, Germany, but also the forthright, courageous, and vital contributions of the “little guys,” the smaller, often poorer NATO members generally regarded by strategists (of the sort who predicted that Kyiv would fall to the Russians in a few days) as minor players—to the extent they were players at all.
Although the United States and Britain led, it was often the smallest states who made a vital supplementary difference, early on. The Baltic states, …read more
Source:: Hoover Institution
