Jim Mattis, in Lithuania, Reaffirms U.S. Commitment to NATO
Standing with President Dalia Grybauskaite of Lithuania at the presidential palace on Wednesday, Mr. Mattis said, "Have no doubt
that we stand with you united in a common cause." Ms. Grybauskaite described Mr. Mattis as "a good friend of Lithuania," saying that "he understands the threats facing us" and that "we can trust him." During his Senate confirmation hearings, Mr. Mattis described the NATO alliance as essential.
Jim Mattis, the American secretary of defense, visited this Lithuanian town on Wednesday to see how NATO is faring in
that fight, and his guide was a German officer who has been a target in that war, falsely accused of being a rapist and a Russian spy.
that It’s not always comfortable to remind people we’ve been telling them about the Russians for years.
The alliance is expected to conduct a large air defense exercise in Lithuania in July, and Pentagon officials have said
that a Patriot battery could be moved into the region as part of that exercise, but that the deployment may be temporary.
The actions of President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia in Ukraine
and elsewhere have left the Baltic nations deeply uneasy, prompting them to call on NATO to fortify its defenses against a possible Russian invasion.
For some in the Baltics, Russia’s annexation of Crimea and its military intervention in eastern Ukraine confirmed fears
that Mr. Putin wants to re-establish Russian dominance in the Baltics; the online and propaganda efforts that preceded those Russian moves are seen as further proof.