ABSTRACT
The countries of the defunct Warsaw Pact, former Soviet allies, are now a buffer between Russia and Western Europe. The Soviet military, once perceived as almost invincible, has withered to the point of defeat in Afghanistan and Chechnya. Even if Russia resuscitates and grows belligerent again, there is no reason to believe conventional defenses could not deal with any conventional assault it might launch. Russia retained only 49 percent of the Soviet Union's population and 60 percent of its Gross domestic product, which has fallen dramatically since. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) states will be well ahead economically for a very long time. If Russia does close the gap, NATO would only need to calibrate its conventional force levels to the size and shape of whatever conventional threat reemerges. The European allies usually balk at any change to NATO they interpret as another step toward US disengagement from Europe.
