So Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has just made a major foreign policy speech aimed at the Russians. The speech is uncompromising, one might even say hostile.

Wonks Anonymous would like to ask the reader to stop and ponder why it is that the Secretary of Defense is making foreign policy speeches - Is Ms Rice busy elsewhere or is she simply not qualified to address the issue of relations with Russia - and to wonder why the outgoing administration should choose to commit the incoming administration to a very aggressive posture toward Russia. But that is not really the point here.

The point of the speech, aside from the commonplace defense of our new anti missile bases in Poland and the Czech Republic - see the previous post for more on this - is our strong commitment to the expansion of NATO to those two glorious democracies, Ukraine and Georgia.

Georgia's sorry human rights record has been discussed on this blog and now recent reporting on its ill advised war with Russia have indicated that it was the aggressor. Ukraine has serious problems of its own. Our favorites are unable to form a government, the economy is collapsing and their coalition partners seem to be seeking an accommodation with the parties that represent the ethnic Russian minority - that would be 40% of the population.

As to the commitment of the current Ukrainian government to democracy: “There has been an overdose of democracy in Ukraine,” Says the Defense Minister - again the Defense people seem to be running the show here.

Indeed, while our European allies have approved of NATO membership for these nations, in theory, they have yet to approve the next step - a Membership Action Plan or MAP. It seems that these nations have not achieved the required levels of political and military reform need to join the alliance.

Wonks Anonymous is not sure what scares the Europeans most, supporting governments that are at war with their own ethnic minorities or entering into a defensive alliance with a nation that has proved itself ready to provoke a powerful neighbor but incapable of following through on the battlefield.

At any rate Gates has indicated that he is ready to push forward, even if he has no MAP. Of course he does not really understand why the Russians should be upset if we arm our allies on their borders. After all, look at how understanding we were when they moved missiles into Cuba.

Wonks Anonymous prays that the Obama administration will have more sense on this issue. He is not certain that they will given the large number of Clinton folk involved in the transition, and the talk of keeping Mr. Gates as Secretary of Defense.