The Russian invasion of Georgia shocked Poland into accepting last Thursday a long-stalled deal to construct an American missile defense base on Polish territory. This missile defense base will track any incoming ballistic missiles and then deploy an interceptor missile to destroy them. The deal also pledges that, in case of an attack, the United States will defend Poland with greater speed than is required under nato.

“Poland and the Poles do not want to be in alliances in which assistance comes at some point later—it is no good when assistance comes to dead people,” Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Polish television. “Poland wants to be in alliances where assistance comes in the very first hours of—knock on wood—any possible conflict.”

While this deal is officially supposed to protect Poland, and all Europe, from “pariah states” like Iran, the fact that Poland accepted the deal within days of the Russian invasion of Georgia shows that it is a threat from Moscow that Polish leaders are truly worried about.

Russian leaders realize that this missile defense base is meant to be a defense measure against them and have reacted angrily to news of it. Senior Russian defense official Gen. Anatoly Nogovitsyn warned Poland last Friday that it was exposing itself to a possible Russian nuclear attack by accepting such a military base on Polish soil. Such actions, he said, “cannot go unpunished.”

Considering the fact that Russia has just demonstrated its willingness to actually act on such threats—coupled with the West’s demonstrated commitment to what it calls “soft power” (a battery of diplomatic and economic incentives and punishments that have repeatedly proven of no use against many nations—witness Iran)—it’s not difficult to imagine events getting even uglier very quickly.

Russia invaded Georgia, an aspiring nato member, and then turned right around and threatened Poland with the possibility of a nuclear attack all in the same week.

Europe is growing terrified of the Kremlin’s growing military might. As a result, watch for European leaders to expedite the development of their own military might.

For now, the leaders of Poland are trying to secure their nation by drafting a defense agreement with America. More European leaders may follow suit and try to work much closer with the United States in an attempt to bring security to the world. However, trust in a swift and decisive U.S. response to an attack, in this case on Poland, is dangerously misplaced. Look at recent history. When America’s allies are attacked, America does little more than express disapproval. It is swift only in calling such actions “unacceptable.” Look at the Gaza Strip, currently under Hamas rule. Look at Lebanon, dominated by Hezbollah—both Iranian proxies. Look at Taiwan, which has been all but swallowed up by China. Look, now, at Georgia. The U.S. is repeatedly proving itself an unreliable ally.

We can expect that some European leaders are catching on. They are coming to mistrust the U.S. They know that Europe is going to have to unite into one unified federal superstate for their common protection.

Consider what the late Plain Truth editor in chief, Herbert W. Armstrong, wrote in a December 1960 co-worker letter: “Western Europe is becoming more and more uneasy—less and less confident they can rely on United States’ power for their protection. This giant factor is starting the nations of Western Europe more and more toward uniting for their common protection.”

This forecast is far more true today than it was in 1960. Threats from Russia are going to trigger a European backlash that will cause the Continent to transform itself into an imperialistic empire. For proof of this, read “Russia Exposes Europe’s Greatest Need” and Germany and the Holy Roman Empire.