I was speaking of political distance; not geographical distance... as in, not seeking political unity at present....PUshing up against their borders is the opposite of maintaining distance...
Being willing to go to war to defend any part of Europe is a big part of our political and military strategy....Being willing to fight a war over West Germany made sense. Being treaty bound to fight a war over Estonia, does not.
Reducing the footprint of the former Warsaw Pact by bringing former members under the NATO umbrella is a related tactic.
We did not force Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania to join NATO.
They asked us.
They are very afraid of coming under the Russian heel again.
That, too, tells us something about whether the Russians are 'ready for prime time' in partnering with Western Democracies.
We could ask the Crimeans, but it's a little too late for that now.
We could ask the Ukrainians, but they're half-the country they used to be.
That tells us even more about whether the Russians are ready for prime time in partnering with Western Democracies.
The various Russian troll-farms making sorties onto Western message boards really need to rethink their approach.
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