If what he says is true, and not just another Trump exaggeration or misrepresentation, we are committing ourselves to a potential military disaster, (or a humiliating, cringing back-down) to use our troops as a trip-wire to discourage Russian saber-rattling and muscle flexing. Lets face it, its highly unlikely NATO could stop any determined Russian aggression now, and certainly not if our allies don't commit themselves to a higher condition of readiness. So what the hell are we doing there anyway? Will we start lobbing nukes? Do the Russians believe we'll start lobbing nukes?

Remember the old film "War of the Worlds", where the Martians are on the move, crushing the US forces arrayed against them? Their beleaguered commander calls headquarters for instructions, and is ordered to fall back, regroup,and to try to stop them. In other words, what his orders really are is, "Stay there and let them kill you, maybe it will slow them down until we can think of something to do." Dr Clayton Forrester accurately asseses the situation: "Get your people out of here, General. This is no defense against that kind of power."

A trip wire force has some credibility (as it does in S Korea), especially if there is an implied threat of going nuke, but only if the host country has a robust military force as well and has the will to use it. Likewise, Japan and Taiwan also have credible military defenses of their own. So does Viet Nam. They may not have the ability to stop a determined attack, but they can make it costly for the enemy, and give us time to react.

No, I'm not ready to give Trump full credit for statesmanship or military policy on this, but I wouldn't dismiss him altogether, either.