Ukraine, jihadists put NATO at center stage

LEADERS of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) countries meeting in Wales last week faced two utterly different tasks. The first, much more complex yet all too familiar, is the mission to halt Russia from expanding into the former Soviet periphery. The second is a short-term mission to contain Islamic State expansion in the Middle East. The missions draw on NATO’s experience containing the Soviets in the 20th century and its counterterrorism operations in the 21st century, respectively. In both cases, NATO members face budgetary and electoral constraints that will limit the alliance’s ability to respond, leaving the United States to shoulder most of the burden. No matter how the alliance does respond, its continued relevance will be harder to question.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko attended the NATO summit, where he has met the leaders of several NATO members. Even as Kiev and the pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine appear to be moving toward a cease-fire depending upon how direct negotiations in Minsk go September 5, Poroshenko still wants help from NATO against Moscow and the separatists. But his attempts to garner support from NATO will likely prove fruitless.