In the 1970 film “Tora! Tora! Tora!” Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto is credited with issuing the following warning after his country’s attack on Pearl Harbor:

“I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve.”

Although there is no evidence that the real Admiral Yamamoto ever uttered those words, the phrase “wake a sleeping giant” has become a permanent part of the English lexicon.

And that may be precisely what Vladimir Putin has done this week in violating NATO territory by sending 19 drones deep into Poland’s airspace. It was not the first such incursion, but it was the most extensive . . . and threatening enough to cause Poland’s military for the first time to deploy aircraft to intercept them, shooting down at least three.

While most of Eastern Europe and the Baltics have already bolstered their defenses against the possibility of Russia’s war against Ukraine extending into their territories, this is the first incident of fire being returned by a NATO country. Poland immediately requested a UN Security Council session, which has been scheduled today at 19:00 GMT.

And even before that session could be held, several NATO nations leapt to Poland’s defense. Germany has said it would “intensify its engagement along Nato’s [sic] eastern border” and expand its policing of Poland’s airspace. And France’s President Macron has announced that his country would send three Rafale fighter jets to supplement Poland’s defenses, saying, “We will not yield to Russia’s growing intimidation.” [Laura Gozzi, BBC News, September 11, 2025.]

Additionally, the Netherlands and the Czech Republic have said they would send defenses to Poland; and Lithuania has offered to receive a German brigade. [Id.]

Sweden, the Netherlands and the Czech Republic all summoned the Russian ambassadors in their countries to protest the incident. [Id.]

If Putin’s intent was to test the will and the defense capabilities of the NATO countries bordering Ukraine, he may indeed have poked the giant a bit too hard . . . because it wasn’t asleep after all. And now it’s really pissed off.

Except, perhaps, for its right foot, which is anchored securely across the Atlantic Ocean in the United States, far from the fray. Because all that Donald Trump had to say to reporters was that he was “not happy” with the situation, and that the whole thing “could have been a mistake.” [RFE/RL, September 12, 2025.]

Right. That should have Putin shaking in his boots.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
9/12/25