The World's Greatest Rubber Stamp

The U.S. is already seriously overstretched by having far too many commitments around the world, but the Senate isn’t going to let that get in the way of adding more.

The Senate approved Finland and Sweden’s accession to NATO with a 95-1-1 vote yesterday:

The 95-1 vote made the United States the 23rd of NATO’s 30 members to ratify the proposed addition, which leaders in Helsinki and Stockholm began to contemplate this spring in response to Russia’s aggressive cross-border campaign.

It would be generous to describe what preceded the vote as a “debate,” since there was only one senator willing to articulate strong objections to further alliance expansion. Just as they have done with every other round of NATO expansion, the Senate endorsed new security commitments without serious consideration of any of the potential pitfalls and risks that adding new allies will always have. As they have usually done, they have approached the question of pledging our government’s willingness to go to war to defend other countries about as cavalierly as any group of elected officials can. In truth, the Senate rubber stamps NATO expansion because none of the members thinks that the U.S. will ever have to back up the commitments that they so carelessly make. NATO expansion is considered to be extremely important and must not be opposed, but it can also be done almost on a whim without looking too closely into what it might require of us.