ALEXANDER: NATO confronts the bear and mosquitoes

In the past, NATO has assumed strictly a defensive role. The rules were defined and the boundaries delineated. Today's NATO is assuming an offensive role. As we have found this offensive role only has rules for NATO and terrorists being non nation state entities have no constraints. In a battle of attrition, this model favors terrorists and time. In offensive actions, there cannot be idioms. If there are, get ready for another Yalu River or Ho Chi Minh trail paradigm in Afghanistan and Georgia.

NATO while ideologically "should" be a relevant and significant force for security, it's Western European members render it toothless and unable to exert any leadership. Just yesterday NATO the Western European members quaked when asked to stand up to a newly embolden Russian Bear for fear that their winter may be colder without Russian gas and chose only to scold Russia for it's invasion of Georgia instead of booting Russia from the NATO council. Our NATO Western Euro partners demonstrated the very weakness that Vladimir Putin expected. Germany and Great Britain also showed Putin that his acts of aggression will go unpunished and that Eastern Europe is on it's own as NATO will not defend or even attempt to use coercive measures to force Russia to halt it's revitalize nationalism and imperialism. Putin now knows that Europe will stand-down while Russia expands it's stranglehold on European energy supplies. The eastern Europeans, understanding the Russian mind of deceit and conquer, see clearly that the age of reason in Russia has ended if it ever started. No negotiation will be respected by Russia unless Russia is made to pay for it's misdeeds. Already, Russia is violating it's cease-fire agreement and the Euros tremble at the thought of putting the Russian foot to the fire and to force compliance or face the consequences. NATO because of the Western Europeans that the organization protected and saved from being consumed by the Soviet Bear, now weakens the organization to uselessness in the face of the Russian Bear and is unwilling to save it's own neck from the stranglehold of high Russian gas prices. The Western Euros also sent a message to Ukraine, "be not ye bold in the forest alone." It is time for some serious house cleaning inside NATO if it is ever to be a relevant organization in the future. The US should with the Eastern European NATO members publicly pressure the Western Euros to be as brave and righteous as the smaller Eastern European members of NATO who face a an even more grave threat from Russia then their limp Western partners.