A G-8 meeting with guns

The blog "vodka Pundit" on Nato expansion

NATO isn’t a defensive alliance anymore. It’s a club. It’s a very nice club of very nice countries, and it even has a very nice clubhouse — er, headquarters — in Belgium. But it’s an alliance without a plan, and without even a real enemy.

And while it probably wouldn’t hurt to let in a couple more members, two questions need to be asked. What would they contribute? And what would be our responsibilities?

No policy-makers asked these questions when NATO let in Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary, and all the rest after 1989. And nobody important is asking them today.

So by all means, let in Ukraine. Bring in Georgia. Might as well let in Armenia and Mongolia, too. How about the Zambians? They seem nice.

My point is, it doesn’t matter. Because until NATO has a plan, it’s not a real alliance. It’s just a big G-8 meeting with guns.