When more troops mean less security

After a meeting of defense ministers last month, NATO leaders will convene again next week in the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius. There they’re expected to approve a significant update to the alliance’s military posture on its eastern flank, where several members––Finland, Estonia, and Latvia––share a border with Russia, and several more––Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, and Romania––border Ukraine.

Right now, NATO has about “40,000 troops on standby from Estonia in the north down to Romania on the Black Sea,” reports the Associated Press. With the new plan, the alliance “aims to have up to 300,000 troops ready to move to its eastern flank within 30 days.”

The motivation is obvious: Russia invaded Ukraine last year, and last month’s failed Wagner rebellion highlighted a dangerous vulnerability in Moscow, a nuclear power. NATO’s easternmost members are eager for military reinforcement, with Lithuania long requesting a permanent foreign military presence in its territory (preferably American, though German may have to suffice).

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