In recent days, the Russians have made some noises about Estonia. You remember Estonia; it's one of the tiny states on the Baltic Sea that used to be part of the Soviet Union. It was an independent country before World War II and then it was annexed by the Soviet Union as a consequence of the Nazi-Soviet pact of 1939. During the war, first the Germans and then the Russians overran the small country. When the USSR collapsed in the early 1990's, Estonia regained its independence. Since then, it joined the European Union and became a member of NATO as well. To be clear, since Estonia is a member of NATO, every other country in that alliance has pledged to defend any attack on Estonia as if it were an attack on them.
But back to the Russians. It seems that agents of the Russian secret service crossed the border into Estonia and captured a local official and brought him back to Moscow under arrest. It seems like a move to set up some sort of conflict with the Estonians that the Russians can use as a pretense for further actions against the tiny country.
It may well be that president Putin of Russia is testing NATO. Putin knows that if he were to move forces into Estonia under murky circumstances, most of NATO would want to respond with more meaningless sanctions rather than with military force. Indeed, if Putin can get effective control of Estonia without any real and meaningful response from NATO, it will mean the end of that alliance. Countries like Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Hungary and Slovakia will know that they are on their own in dealing with Russia. In short, all of eastern Europe will have to go back being subservient to Moscow's wishes.
It's time for president Obama to take action to prevent this from happening. Now, before any further problems arise, America ought to establish a base for some American troops in Estonia. The presence of 500 to 1000 US forces in Estonia near the Russian border would be a major deterrent to action by Putin. Even better would be if NATO as a whole were to establish a training base in the area and rotate another 1000 troops from various NATO member countries through that base. The Russians would most likely back off in making any further threats against Estonia. It is one thing to threaten a tiny country whose allies seem to be abandoning it. It is quite another thing for Russia to risk a major European war by attack American and NATO forces stationed in Estonia.
I would think that Estonia itself would pay for the cost of these bases in order to insure its security. In other words, a problem which could easily become a world crisis if left unattended could be resolved with little or no cost today. It just requires leadership from the White House and action by the USA and NATO. Let's hope they are not all still asleep.
But back to the Russians. It seems that agents of the Russian secret service crossed the border into Estonia and captured a local official and brought him back to Moscow under arrest. It seems like a move to set up some sort of conflict with the Estonians that the Russians can use as a pretense for further actions against the tiny country.
It may well be that president Putin of Russia is testing NATO. Putin knows that if he were to move forces into Estonia under murky circumstances, most of NATO would want to respond with more meaningless sanctions rather than with military force. Indeed, if Putin can get effective control of Estonia without any real and meaningful response from NATO, it will mean the end of that alliance. Countries like Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Hungary and Slovakia will know that they are on their own in dealing with Russia. In short, all of eastern Europe will have to go back being subservient to Moscow's wishes.
It's time for president Obama to take action to prevent this from happening. Now, before any further problems arise, America ought to establish a base for some American troops in Estonia. The presence of 500 to 1000 US forces in Estonia near the Russian border would be a major deterrent to action by Putin. Even better would be if NATO as a whole were to establish a training base in the area and rotate another 1000 troops from various NATO member countries through that base. The Russians would most likely back off in making any further threats against Estonia. It is one thing to threaten a tiny country whose allies seem to be abandoning it. It is quite another thing for Russia to risk a major European war by attack American and NATO forces stationed in Estonia.
I would think that Estonia itself would pay for the cost of these bases in order to insure its security. In other words, a problem which could easily become a world crisis if left unattended could be resolved with little or no cost today. It just requires leadership from the White House and action by the USA and NATO. Let's hope they are not all still asleep.
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