Abu Muqawama: NATO's Relevance a Question of Perspective

Last week, while in Poland to deliver a series of lectures on defense issues, I traveled by train from Warsaw to Krakow and was reminded why Norman Davies titled his magisterial history of the country, “God’s Playground.” Aside from the Great Plains of North America, one would be hard-pressed to find terrain better suited to armored and cavalry warfare -- and more inviting to invaders on all sides.

So it was no surprise that during my visit, many of the questions I heard from Poles concerned the health and future of the NATO alliance. Americans are fortunate enough to no longer really need NATO. Speak to a U.S. military officer or diplomat these days, and they will refer to NATO as if it is a collection of far-off allies, one that the United States is no longer really a part of.

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