Comment on NATO's flirtation with adding 2 more members runs the risk of starting a war the US can't afford to fight

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at a NATO Defense Ministers meeting in Brussels, October 21, 2021. REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol While in Europe this month, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin made clear that Ukraine and Georgia may still join NATO. Ukraine and Georgia have much in common with other NATO members - including a rivalry with their neighbor, Russia. But offering them membership is a dangerous and counterproductive policy that doesn't serve US national interests. US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin is visiting Europe this week having said Ukraine and Georgia have an "open door to NATO" and that "no third country has a veto over NATO's membership decisions." Because both countries have been on the receiving end of Russian aggression, it is natural to feel sympathy for Ukraine and Georgia - but offering them NATO membership is an extremely dangerous and counterproductive policy that does not serve the US national interest.Rather than bolster the security of the American people, as one would expect US defense policy to do, expanding NATO increases the risk of the United States being drawn into a war with Russia.