The leaders of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania are asking NATO to strengthen its presence in the Baltics in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The three EU countries are all members of the Alliance. At the same time, they are also former Soviet states.
“We are not only asking for a permanent presence of NATO but also a new form of presence,” Latvia’s Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins said after a meeting with Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas and Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte on Friday.
The three prime ministers also called for stricter sanctions against Russia, including a ban on Russian oil and gas imports.
Source: © NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today / #NorwayTodayNews
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When the Western-backed Kyiv coup happened, I am the first person I know of to – on Washington Post and my other forums and more directly to SecDef Chuck Hagel – urge that we get U.S. Army light infantry nuclear trip-wire detachments into the Baltics ASAP, and lo! the U.S. Cavalry rode/flew to their rescue – a troop/company (who were presumably welcomed and very well treated 🙂) in each of the 3 countries.
A detachment of U.S. troops gives sufficient (nuclear) deterrent credibility for defense. Other countries’ troops do not. More forces, including heavy weapons – tanks and attack helicopters – is an *offensive* threat which only makes the Baltics’ situation even more dangerous.
On the other hand, if we Americans get even more involved in this war against Russia, the credibility of our claims we are only defending are compromised.
Still, Russia cannot fight 2 fronts at once.