By Gil Barndollar
After one week, with the most serious fighting surely still to come, Russia's war on Ukraine has already precipitated a transformation of European security.
Vladimir Putin could well accomplish his immediate military goals in Ukraine, but the victory will be a pyrrhic one. Europe's post-Cold War holiday from hard power and hard choices is finally over.
For more than a half-century, American presidents have complained about European free-riding and unwillingness to shoulder a fair share of the collective defense burden under the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. At the height of the Cold War, even avowed Atlanticists like President Dwight Eisenhower fumed that the Europeans were all but "making a sucker out of Uncle Sam."
This piece was originally published in Insider on March 4, 2022. Read more HERE.