IN A JAM

U.S. Military ‘Fears Getting Stuck in Traffic’ in Event of War With Russia

European infrastructure may not be able to handle troops.

Commanders in the U.S. military fear that troops could get stuck in European traffic jams if they were deployed to head off a conflict with Russia, according to The Washington Post. During at least one White House exercise that war-gamed out a European war with Russia, logistical problems contributed to a NATO loss. Commanders fear military Humvees could be stuck on narrow roads as they make their way east across Europe and that U.S. tanks could crush rusting bridges too weak to hold their weight. American troops sent to assist skeleton NATO forces would have to travel hundreds of miles in the event of a military engagement with Russia and delays—largely from decaying infrastructure and bureaucracy—could enable Russia to annex NATO territory while U.S. Army planners were filling out the 17 forms needed to cross Germany into Poland. “We have to be able to move as fast or faster than Russia in order to be an effective deterrent,” said Ben Hodges, the U.S. Army’s former top general in Europe.