Europe's Defense Needs More Than Nuclear Weapons

Hot Air's opinion piece looks at Russia's 4,400 warheads, sets them beside the 515 held by the United Kingdom and France combined, and concludes Europe matching Moscow would be very difficult. My editor would cut that math as too obvious to be a twist. The author argues a nuclear reply to a limited attack on eastern neighbors would be overkill and not credible. A villain who knows the hero will never push the big red button just takes a small bite out of the border and books a return flight. The piece uses Paris, Vilnius and Lithuania as its examples in the nuclear-use argument. A deterrent nobody believes is an expensive paperweight, and peace through strength means forces that can actually show up.