To many, myself included, NATO's enlargement to take in, among others, the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania -- which were once Soviet republics -- is an impossible dream come true. When the idea was first floated some 10 years ago, expansion into the Baltics was taken seriously by few people. Until recently, Russia's robust opposition to the idea posed a serious obstacle, because it sharpened the impression that Russia regarded its so-called "near abroad" as a zone of special interest and influence.
To many, myself included, NATO's enlargement to take in, among others, the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania -- which were once Soviet republics -- is an impossible dream come true. When the idea was first floated some 10 years ago, expansion into the Baltics was taken seriously by few people. Until recently, Russia's robust opposition to the idea posed a serious obstacle, because it sharpened the impression that Russia regarded its so-called "near abroad" as a zone of special interest and influence.