From WSJopinion: Washington’s decision to announce the alert in advance of another Russian attack, tie it to the NRF, and double down on a multilateral approach is a welcome shift in strategy, writes JohnRDeni
Wonder Land: Joe Biden’s foreign policy is about protecting Democrats’ domestic spending, not U.S. security. Images: Getty Images/KCNA/Reuters Composite: Mark KellyThe Pentagon announced on Monday that it was placing 8,500 U.S. troops on heightened alert, including troops that could deploy as part of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s Response Force.
But during the NRF’s nearly 20 years in existence, the alliance has treated it like an antiquarian book—very expensive and rarely taken off the shelf. The U.S. troop alert indicates not only that Washington is shifting from its strategy of restraint but also that it wants to keep NATO at the center of any response to a Russian reinvasion of Ukraine. This makes sense, but the alliance has been unwilling to use the NRF in the past.