Pentagon reportedly urges US allies to say nicer things about Russia, avoid saying Vladimir Putin is ‘cornered like a rat’

The Pentagon is reportedly concerned that US allies are being too mean to Russia. Per Stars and Stripes, the Pentagon’s under secretary of defense for policy, Elbridge Colby, is just one of many officials meeting with European countries and quietly asking them to quit “poking” Vladimir Putin.

The report singles out officials from Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia, who say (per Reuters) that they’ve been told by America that making fun of Russia could undermine security in Europe. Colby in particular is said to have told officials that saying Russia is “cornered like a rat” is unhelpful to European defense.

That appears to be a reference to Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal saying in September when talking about how Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has “stalled” and that they’ve resorted to sabotage operations in Europe. Michal went on to say that Putin had become like “a rat in a corner.”

Rat comparisons said to be unhelpful

That’s not a random metaphor. Putin himself has recounted a childhood story about cornering a rat, which then attacked him. Regardless, the Pentagon would prefer “measured” language when it comes to Putin. Michal responded to that by denouncing Putin as “a dictator who kills women and children” who will continue until forced to change course and underlined that appeasing dictators is not the solution.

Pressed for comment by Reuters, the Pentagon would neither confirm nor deny they attempted to tone-police US allies, with Stripes quoting them as saying, “Private conversations among allies are just that, so we will not comment on these allegations.” Estonia was also vague about what was said, with ministry spokeswoman Liisa Tagel saying, “No such suggestions have reached us through official channels.”

Stripes names Colby as one of the architects of what’s been dubbed “NATO 3.0,” which seeks to reduce United States involvement and expenditure in defending Europe from Russia. Earlier this year, he said: “In the spirit of flexible realism and strategic rigor, we are advancing and accelerating NATO 3.0 to adapt America’s strategic posture in Europe and transition to a more durable and powerful European-led conventional defense.”

This would apparently allow the United States to pour troops currently stationed in Europe into the Indo-Pacific and European hemisphere and is also neatly in line with Donald Trump’s own position on NATO. He repeatedly argues that European countries should pay more for the United States to defend them. His position can be summarized in a comment from a Feb. 2024 rally, where he says he told a European leader: “You didn’t pay? You’re delinquent?… No, I would not protect you. In fact, I would encourage them [Russia] to do whatever the hell they want. You got to pay. You got to pay your bills.”