Issue Briefs
5 Things NATO Must Do To Deter A Dangerous Russia (From 1945)
Daniel Goure
March 9th, 2022
The U.S. and Europe must now come to terms with the reality that no set of common interests, economic, cultural, or environmental, will be sufficient to keep Moscow from pursuing its strategic interests at the expense of those of other states. This includes military means. The idea of deterring Russia must now give way to that of defending Europe from the possibility of further Russian aggression. Here are five things that the Alliance needs to do. First, NATO and the U.S. must move forces east. The U.S. also should plan now to deploy the fruits of Army modernization efforts, particularly Long Range Precision Fires (LRPFs), to Europe. Second, NATO must begin the long and difficult process of rebuilding its conventional land warfare capabilities. One early step is to accelerate the delivery of M1 Abrams tanks to Poland. Third, the Biden administration must undertake steps to speed delivery of F-35s to European nations. Furth, the U.S. needs to build up air and missile defenses in Europe including both Patriot batteries and IM-SHORAD battalions. Fifth, The U.S. must fully modernize its strategic nuclear deterrent and go ahead with a new submarine launched nuclear-armed cruise missile. I have written more on this subject here.
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Daniel Gouré, Ph.D., is a vice president at the public-policy research think tank Lexington Institute. Goure has a background in the public sector and U.S. federal government, most recently serving as a member of the 2001 Department of Defense Transition Team. |