Truman Project Fellow Jason Stanford is quoted on military deployment in Eastern Europe and whether it can deter Russian action in the region.
But Jason Stanford of the Truman National Security Project, a Democratic defense think tank, countered that militarizing Europe failed to deter Russian President Vladimir Putin from invading Georgia during the Bush administration.
“We can flex our muscle all we want, but it won’t affect the choices Putin has,” Stanford said. “The reason we’re in this mess isn’t because of Obama or even Bush. The reason we’re in this mess is because NATO, led by some European countries, refused to expand to Georgia and Ukraine. Had we done that, Putin would have stayed out. NATO needs to expand. That is the show of force that needs to happen, and that requires diplomacy.”
