SHORING UP ALLIES

Obama Wants $1B for European Security

In light of Russia’s behavior.

Money can’t buy you love, but it may buy you some geopolitically strategic friends. During his visit to Poland, Obama announced that he will ask Congress for $1 billion for Poland and other European countries to boost their security. The request, unsurprisingly, is framed as a response to Russia’s recent aggression against Ukraine. Obama said Europe is the “cornerstone of our own security and it is sacrosanct” and referred to Poland and the U.S. as a “brotherhood in arms.” The requested $1 billion would go to land, air, and sea military exercises and would also go to some non-NATO nations on Russia’s border, including Ukraine, Georgia, and Moldova.