Yahoo Movies 
NATO to Boost Troop Levels in Biggest Overhaul Since Cold War
(Bloomberg) -- NATO leaders prepared to overhaul and boost the alliance’s defences in the face of Russian aggression in Europe, including establishing a new force model that would put about 300,000 troops on high alert to deal with any future threats.
Most Read from Bloomberg
US President Joe Biden said in Madrid on Wednesday that his country would set up a permanent headquarters in Poland for the Fifth Army Corps, maintain an additional rotational brigade of thousands of troops in Romania and bolster other deployments in the Baltic states. The US will also send two more F-35 squadrons to the UK and add to air-defense systems in Germany and Italy. That adds to 100,000 US troops already in Europe.
“In a moment where Putin has shattered peace in Europe and attacked the very, very tenets of the rule-based order the United States and our allies - we’re stepping up,” Biden told reporters at the summit. “The steps we’re taking during this summit are going to further augment our collective strength.” The Russian president is “getting the NATO-ization of Europe,” Biden said.
The leaders will on Wednesday hear from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy via video conference about his nation’s battle against Russia following the Feb. 24 invasion. They are expected to sign off on the so-called new force model, under which NATO will pre-position more equipment, boost air defenses and earmark forces to defend specific allies and maintain those forces at a certain level of readiness.
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization already on Tuesday night moved one step closer to bolstering its eastern front with Russia after Turkey dropped its opposition to Swedish and Finnish bids to join. Once members, the Nordic countries will boost the alliance with their NATO-standard militaries and high level of integration. Both countries are also boosting defense spending.
In optics that underscored satisfaction at Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s new stance, Biden and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg smiled as they posed with the Turkish president for photographers. Biden and Erdogan will hold a bilateral meeting later in the afternoon.
Stoltenberg told reporters before Wednesday’s sessions that leaders’ forthcoming decisions on issues including troop deployments and high-readiness forces represent “the biggest overhaul of our collective defense since the end of the Cold War.”
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte called the summit “an opportunity to show that NATO is back.”
Adding the two Nordic counties will shrink the vulnerability of other countries in the Baltic region with the option to quickly reinforce from the north in the event of an attack. The additional 1,343 kilometers (835 miles) of land frontier with Russia would effectively isolate its enclave of Kaliningrad sandwiched between Poland and Lithuania on the Baltic Sea.
With NATO capabilities on either side of the Gulf of Finland — about 50 kilometers at its narrowest point — allies could block Russia’s Baltic Fleet in case of any hostilities.
Stoltenberg said that the alliance would invite the two Nordic countries to join while leaders are still in Madrid. He called the invitation “a historic decision,” with the alliance’s 30 members then due to ratify membership. “I expect that also to go rather quickly because allies are ready to make that ratification process happen as quickly as possible,” he said.
Turkey agreed to support inviting the two Nordic countries into the military alliance, after receiving pledges from Finland and Sweden addressing its security concerns, including restrictions on Kurdish groups that Turkey considers terrorists, and avoiding arms embargoes.
Read More: NATO Expansion Could Finally Shore Up Alliance’s Weakest Flank
NATO membership for the two previously neutral countries would mark a significant shift in the European security landscape after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Still, the actual membership process will still take many months, including ratification from NATO members’ parliaments, before Finland and Sweden become members and can benefit from the alliance’s article 5 collective defense commitments.
Stoltenberg said he expected allies to sign the Nordic countries’ accession protocols “immediately” after the summit.
A senior US administration official said President Biden’s goal this week was to help get the deal across the finish line. Biden told Erdogan Tuesday morning in a phone call that he should seize the moment and finalize negotiations for an agreement during the Madrid summit.
“It’s good for Sweden and Finland’s security but in equal measure it is good for NATO as we would contribute to the common security of the alliance,” Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson said in a phone interview. “Sweden and Finland were able to explain our work against terrorism and how we have tightened legislation and will continue to strengthen it.”
EXPLAINER: How Putin’s Hopes to Weaken NATO Did the Opposite
(Updates with remarks from Biden, leaders from third paragraph)
Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek
How Generations of Black Americans Lost Their Land to Tax Liens
You Can Give People What They Want. Or You Can Give Them Web3
©2022 Bloomberg L.P.
