Spheres of influence

Re: Waiting For The Sellout, Fr. Raymond de Souza, July 26.

The Baltic states consist of barely 6.2 million people, of whom nearly 20 per cent are ethnic Russians. Their only strategic value was to encircle Russia as part of the western military alliance while it was still reeling from the fall of empire. Nevertheless, this region can be considered within Russia’s historical sphere of influence with as much validity as the American Monroe Doctrine claiming military domain over the Americas.

NATO’s ominous and escalating standoff with Russia is the result of a weak American president, George W. Bush, being led by his generals to admit the Baltics to the alliance while another weak president, Barack Obama declared NATO’s Article 5 in his 2014 visit, whereby an attack on the Baltics is an attack on NATO.

The problem with this declaration is that Russia can seize each Baltic capi tal i n mere hours, with no NATO conventional response possible, putting the United States in the unpalatable position of going nuclear or abandoning the credibility of the alliance. Having seen Obama abandon “red lines,” Russian President Vladimir Putin must be considering invading before “trip wires” can be deployed. Donald Trump’s “erratic musings” legitimately question the premise of NATO’s involvement in the Baltics. Perhaps Ottawa and other NATO allies should reconsider as well. John C. Clarke, Rockwood, Ont.