NATO's new energy makes Russia anxious and angry

Each step forward NATO makes in upgrading its institutions and capabilities brings a spasm of angst in the Kremlin, where suspicions, rather than understanding, of the depth of problems that Russia is facing are flourishing. Exaggerating Western disunity has become a means of denying these problems, much as emphasizing “friendliness” to the Arab world is a means of denying the root causes of Islamist radicalism in Russia. An apparent inability to address the cruel exploitation of labor migrants from Central Asia creates fertile ground for new terrorist attacks (see EDM, April 1). The refusal to assess the degradation of its military machine propels Russia toward defeat in the war of its own making.