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OPINION:
Buried within the National Defense Authorization Act that passed the House last week and is set to pass the Senate this week is authorization and funding for a crucial U.S. program: the Baltic Security Initiative.
The Baltic Security Initiative was created in 2020 during the first Trump administration to bolster the defense capabilities and interoperability of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. It has been a big success since then and has generated strong, bipartisan support in Congress.
The Baltic Security Initiative is vital to U.S. and European national security because the Baltics are particularly vulnerable owing to the border they share with Russia and Belarus, Russia’s vassal state. Lithuania is particularly vulnerable because if Russia could capture the Suwalki Gap, the 40 miles of border between Lithuania and Poland, it would effectively cut off all three Baltic countries from the rest of NATO. This would give Russian leader Vladimir Putin a large swath of land and significant Baltic Sea access to launch an attack on the rest of NATO.
The Baltic Security Initiative is not a charity case draining U.S. coffers with nothing in return. For example, for every $1 we give through the initiative, Lithuania purchases an additional $3 in U.S.-manufactured weapons systems. That’s a more than 300% return on our investment.
In September, I joined a bipartisan delegation with the Atlantic Council in Lithuania, where we met with top national security and military officials in the government, U.S. military personnel operating in the country and members of NATO’s Multinational Brigade. In our meetings, Lithuanian officials made clear they don’t want a handout. They want a partnership with the United States where both parties contribute.
American systems and, crucially, American training are the best in the world. Lithuania is ready to pay for as much of this as it can but needs some assistance, along with the continued presence of U.S. rotational forces, to deter Russian aggression.
The Trump administration has a good reason to insist that Europe finally be responsible for its own defense. For far too long, some NATO allies have overly relied on U.S. military protection to the detriment of European security. Making matters worse, most had the resources to protect themselves, yet they didn’t use them. Since Mr. Putin’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, much of Europe has finally awoken to the dangers in its own backyard and begun investing in its own defense. Yet past complacency has left a bad taste in the mouths of many Americans.
The Baltic countries have been an exception to this problem. For years, the Baltics have spent billions of dollars to expand their military capabilities, modernize their weapons systems, train their people and ensure critical interoperability with their allies. Lithuania implemented a conscription more than 10 years ago to swell the ranks of its military and to train Lithuanian citizens in the event of an invasion. Estonia and Latvia also have mandatory conscription.
The Baltics were some of the first countries to cut themselves off from Russian energy, and now Lithuania purchases a majority of its liquefied natural gas from the United States. That’s money directly invested in the American economy. The Baltics have also been some of our highest-performing NATO allies. Seven years ago, Lithuania’s defense spending was at 2%. This year, it will be 3.9% of gross domestic product, the second-highest in NATO. Lithuania’s Baltic neighbors, Latvia and Estonia, are ranked third and fourth, respectively.
Estonia first reached 2% spending of GDP on defense in 2015 and this April announced an investment plan to reach 5.4% by 2029. Latvia passed 2% in 2018 and announced its plan to increase defense spending to 5% by 2028. In fact, all three Baltic states committed to increasing defense spending to at least 5% before the historic NATO agreement at The Hague.
In other words, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia are exactly the kinds of allies America needs in Europe. By fully authorizing and funding the Baltic Security Initiative in this year’s NDAA, Congress is creating American jobs, boosting the U.S. economy, sending an important message of deterrence to Russia and making clear to our allies that those who invest in their own defense will benefit from American might.
• Leslie Shedd is a nonresident fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center and president of Rising Communications.
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