...ain't what it used to be, and its "field position," as we say in American football, is nothing like as advantageous as it was back when Tom Clancy composed his elaborate fantasies. Western Europe, and even Eastern Europe, need not lie awake with visions of Russian tank battalions rolling over 'em. But if Putin absorbs Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, etc., this still leaves NATO in a more advantageous strategic position than when the Warsaw Pact was still a going concern.

cordially,