Our new allies in NATO are worried about Biden's outreach to Russia. Well they should be worried. America is "back" to undermining NATO defenses if it can get away with it.
Notwithstanding the sudden Trump-convenient Democratic hatred of Russia, Trump is gone now. So expect changes:
President Joe Biden’s team has committed “a cascade of errors” in the lead-up to his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to the top Polish diplomat, who complained that Warsaw only learned “from the media" that the U.S. would waive sanctions on a major Russian pipeline project.
“Our American allies did not find time to consult with the region most exposed to the consequences of that decision,” Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau said Friday.
Rau was critical of Biden’s relationship with Central and Eastern European allies, just as the new administration hopes to make a show of transatlantic unity following former President Donald Trump’s tempestuous tenure on Biden's first trip abroad. Yet, the Putin encounter looming at the end of that diplomatic tour casts a shadow over the alliance, as Biden's outreach to the western European capitals that clashed most with Trump involves policy concessions that alarm the allies who endured the tyranny of the Soviet Union.
“It is easier for the Americans to talk to the Germans and the French, who won’t ask awkward questions and are willing to give the Americans the nod on Russia.”
This issue of errors and trust seems so familiar:
Yes, indeed, we did [cancel Bush's missile defense base in Poland and the Czech Republic]. I wake up on the 70th anniversary of the Soviet invasion of Poland (September 17, 1939) to find we've signed up for our very own Hopey-Ex-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact with Putin's Russia. Is this what "smart diplomacy" is all about? Running away on really significant dates in history? Doesn't anybody in the Obama administration have one of those little "this day in history" doohickies on their desktop to check these things out? Couldn't somebody have told the boss, "Uh, sir, perhaps selling out the Poles on September 17th isn't the best idea." Hmm?
Say! Maybe Biden actually is Obama's third term!
America is back [to undermining allies], baby!
UPDATE: What does being "back" to Europe mean?
Still, I think that we need some troops in Europe to watch the Russians given their massive nuclear superiority over the Europeans.
And more importantly, America needs influence through a strong NATO to prevent the European Union from evolving from a trade competitor to a military foe.
