4 Alternatives to U.S. Troops in the Baltics

Alexander Kirss

Security, Eurasia

America can raise the costs for Russia without boots on the ground.

It didn’t take long following the Russian annexation of Crimea for foreign policy analysts to agree that the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania were potentially vulnerable to a similar form of aggression. In recent months the United States and NATO have embarked upon a series of escalatory steps to deter against Russian military action, culminating in the decision to send ground troops—including U.S. forces—to the Baltic states and other eastern European countries. Although somewhat placated, Baltic leaders are already asking for more commitments. The Latvian Foreign Minister, Edgars Rinkevics, noted in a late February visit to Washington, D.C., that his country wanted an increased air defense capability as a short term deterrent before ground troops can deploy, as well as the clear promise that ground forces would be in place “as long as necessary” to deter Russian aggression.

The decision to deploy U.S. ground troops should never be taken lightly, due to the high costs of such deployments and their potential to embroil the country in conflicts it might otherwise avoid. Even more troubling than the actual decision to deploy ground troops, however, is the limited debate over alternative, less costly courses of action. Outside of a few noninterventionist commentators questioning the value of any U.S. military support to the Baltics, elite opinion has almost universally supported increased military aid and U.S. boots on the ground. More importantly, the view that ground troops are necessary has garnered a veneer of authority due to a substantial investment in research and analysis.