Power Trip

“The surprise visit by the director of the Central Intelligence Agency to Moscow this week was to deliver a warning to Russia not to attack NATO countries.” The trip followed reports “that Russian President Vladimir Putin could try to test the resolve of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization with a limited assault on an allied country in the next few years.” Part of this is related to concerns that Putin will act desperately as his invasion of Ukraine takes a toll on Russia. But concerns have also been heightened because Putin might see an opportunity to test the resolve of NATO because of Trump’s constant attacks on the organization (in particular, and allies in general), and this: US Patriot missile stocks in Europe are ‘beyond critical’ due to Iran war, officials say.

+ More from Thomas Wright in The Atlantic (Gift Article): Why Did John Ratcliffe Go to Moscow? The “U.S. intelligence community is concerned that Russia could carry out a limited attack on a NATO state, possibly even launching a small land incursion. Such an assault might thwart Russia’s own interests, prompting Europe to accelerate its military buildup and target Moscow’s sovereign assets. But Putin may see attacking a NATO country as an unprecedented opportunity to break the alliance, by manufacturing a crisis in which the United States fails to act.”