Thanks for “breaking it” to me, RattlerGator. It’s nice to see how much faith you put into Russian rationality and self-restraint.

The point of the “blanque check” alliance — which is what NATO is — is to protect vital interests from aggression by clearly and publicly naming them vital interests. These absolute alliances should never be used in any other way, particularly in the way you advocate, as some kind of electric fence around the most historically expansionist nation on the planet.

The problem with promiscuously extending America’s “blanque check” protection is you flood the market with blank checks. The more blank checks are out there with your signature, the greater the likelihood that one of them is going to be called due. As we saw in the Cold War, there are other, smarter ways to contain Russia, than by signing absolute alliances with all the countries on her periphery.