Re: 'The Economist' Lauds Baltics NATO Participation

On 17 Jun 2006 00:10:10 -0700, lorad474@xxxxxx wrote:

It's a subscription article which is why I can't bring it to you..

The Baltics and NATO

Small world

Jun 15th 2006 | TALLINN
From The Economist print edition


Doubts about Baltic membership of NATO have subsided

Get article background

TOO small, too risky, and too unprepared. That was how NATO saw the
Baltics in the 1990s. Their armed forces were an ill-equipped,
untrained and sometimes disreputable lot. Bad old habits lingered from
the Soviet era (bullying, alcoholism) and bad new ones had been picked
up (mutiny, corruption). So why, many asked, should NATO extend its
defence guarantee to such troublesome and useless allies?

Yet two years after Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania joined the alliance,
things look rather different. Russia's huffing and puffing over the
Baltics joining NATO has proved empty. NATO's practical commitment is
cheap and minimal: just four foreign fighter aircraft, based in
Lithuania. In return, NATO has gained a few things. Lithuania has
useful special forces; Western spies speak highly of their Estonian
colleagues. Estonia and Latvia have modern radars that snoop deep into
Russia and Belarus. ?You can see things from here that you can't see
from Norway,? says Sven Mikser, a former Estonian defence minister.

Another plus is tough soldiers and supportive politicians?nowadays a
rarity in Europe. ?The quality is much higher than we have at home,?
says one Western adviser. ?They have ordinary soldiers with degrees,
who speak three languages.? Boots with brains come in handy for the
Balkans, and farther afield: scores of Baltic soldiers have served in
Iraq, and hundreds in Afghanistan. They have ?liberal rules of
engagement, coupled with tough self-control,? says Kadri Liik,
director of Estonia's International Centre for Defence Studies.

The Balts are also well placed to advise other countries how to turn
rough-and-ready, ramshackle armies into something more professional.
At the Baltic Defence College in Estonia, officers from Ukraine and
Georgia study alongside locals. It is admittedly small stuff compared
with Poland, the biggest, strongest and most useful new NATO member.
The Balts still need to treat their soldiers better, and to increase
defence spending (though so do bigger and richer members from western
Europe).

The biggest lesson of bringing the Balts in is that it resolves
security problems that might otherwise fester. ?If they weren't in
NATO, there would now be a huge tussle for influence here between the
West and resurgent Russia,? says a veteran observer. ?Because the
Balts are in, it's not really an issue.?






but
generally praises the current state of preparedness of the Baltic armed
forces - highlighting their rapid rise in stature in military circles.

Not only are Ukraine and Georgia sending their officers to the Baltic
Military Academy, but the Economist also suggests that the military of
some western european countries would be well advised to use the Baltic
militaries as examples for themselves.

The article points to the development of Lithuanian special reaction
forces and Latvian and Estonian air defense infrastructure. The article
also lauds the professionalism and autonomous command capabilities that
the Baltic troops deployed overseas have displayed.

The only critical notes are: 1) That the Baltics should accord their
militaries increased domestic support, and 2) That NATO would be happy
to see each Baltic nation increase the size of their troop
deployments.
.

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