Biden Vows Putin Will Get 'NATO-ization of Europe'
AP Photo/Evan Vucci
We ran the numbers: There are 3,076 news articles covering this topic. 43% (1,328) are left-leaning, 47% (2,485) are centrist, and 10% (310) are right-leaning.
On Wednesday, The White House announced that the U.S. military will ramp up European presence as NATO welcome Finland and Sweden, adopting an assertive stance toward Russia. Among the policies instated towards this end, President Biden announced a new permanent headquarters for U.S. Army Soldiers in Poland, an additional rotational brigade in Romania, and enhanced deployments in the Baltic states. Spain, Germany, Italy, and the U.K. will also see various additional American military hardware sent to help reinforce defense.
A left-leaning article from the Washington Post highlights the announcement’s intension: “to send ‘an unmistakable message’ that NATO remains unified against Russia’s growing belligerence”. The article also describes NATO’s new Strategic Concept, the first since 2010, outlining threats in the coming decade and how the security environment has changed in recent year; specifically, the previous document describing Russia as a “strategic partner” and omitting China entirely “while this one directly addresses both Russia’s current aggression and China’s growing influence.” The article also notes how Putin’s invasion changed the public perception of NATO, “Just a few years ago, many NATO members, including powerful ones like Germany, refused to spend 2 percent of their gross domestic product on defense, as the allies had agreed, and some were questioning NATO’s fundamental mission and even whether it had outlived its purpose. Putin’s invasion has changed all that with remarkable speed.” The article also describes the role President Erdogan played in Finland and Sweden’s joining the alliance.
A center-leaning article from Newsweek also discusses Finland and Sweden’s addition to NATO: quoting Biden, “[Putin] wanted the sort of Finland-ization of NATO. He got the NATO-ization of Finland, instead." The article goes on to report on the Baltic states call for more and better troops deployed at Russia’s borders to quell aggression and potential invasion without risking territory. The article quotes Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas in reporting that this request comes in the wake of Russian atrocities in Ukraine which proves ‘that NATO's plan to cede territory ‘and liberate it afterwards’ is flawed. ‘Now everyone sees that this tripwire concept doesn't really work.’”
A right-leaning article from Fox News also outlines Biden’s efforts to ramp up military deployments across Europe. The article describes, "all of these combat-credible forces and enablers are supported by significant investments in the long-term U.S. presence in Europe," the White House wrote, adding that the U.S. continues to spend $3.8 billion annually on the "European Deterrence Initiative." Finally, the article notes that while Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine is the impetus of increased presence, the U.S. “has said that it will not deploy troops to directly defend Ukraine, [however,] U.S. troops would get involved if Russia attacks a NATO country.”