Does NATO Still Have a Future?
Lord Hastings Ismay once distilled NATO's purpose into a line: keep the Russians out, the Americans in, and the Germans down. It was a formula that survived seven decades. In 2026, all three conditions are under simultaneous pressure. From both directions at once.
Revisiting my 2020 essay through the lens of hybrid warfare and protective intelligence.
Lord Hastings Ismay, NATO's first Secretary General and Churchill's wartime chief of staff, once distilled the alliance's entire purpose into a single line: to keep the Russians out, the Americans in, and the Germans down. It was a formula that survived seven decades. In 2026, all three conditions have been placed under simultaneous pressure, and not by an external adversary alone. The pressure is coming from both directions at once.