BRUSSELS/WARSAW--The United States could turn to Canada to help it establish a new NATO force in eastern Europe as a deterrent against Russia because it is struggling to win support from its European allies, diplomats say.
Despite its show of force with a military exercise across eastern Europe this month that involved more than 20 NATO and partner countries, the alliance is moving slowly in its efforts to build a rotating force of 4,000 troops on its eastern flank in Poland and the Baltics.
Only Britain and Germany have said they are willing to contribute, by providing a battalion of about 1,000 troops each. The United States will provide a third battalion, leaving NATO requiring one more country to provide a fourth.
"European allies have reasons why they can't come forward. They're thinly stretched, at home, in Africa, in Afghanistan. They just don't have the money," said a senior NATO diplomat involved in the discussions.
The reluctance of some European governments to help the military build-up, the biggest since the end of the Cold War, reflects internal doubts over whether the alliance should be more focused on combating militant groups and uncontrolled flows of migrants, mainly from the Middle East and North Africa.
"There are divisions within NATO," said Sophia Besch, a European defence expert at the London-based Centre for European Reform think tank. "Some allies feel the focus should be on the south."
Unity is crucial for NATO as Moscow and Washington accuse one another of intimidation close to the NATO-Russia border. NATO and Russia feel threatened by each other's large military drills and are at odds over the crisis in Ukraine.
Any sense in the United States that Europe is unwilling to pay for its own defence could be damaging. U.S. President Barack Obama has suggested European powers were "free riders" during the 2011 Libya air campaign, and U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump has accused them of not paying their fair share.
A senior Polish diplomatic source familiar with the negotiations said NATO would not allow the build-up to fail as it had already been announced, and because Russia might exploit it as a sign that NATO is unwilling to defend Poland. "The summit in Warsaw will be President Obama's last (NATO summit) and the U.S. wants it to be a success. It will ensure that the fourth framework country is found, possibly by leaning on Canada," the source said. "Washington will bend over backwards here."
