In the most recent Iowa Fox News debate, Bret Baier asked this very good question of Ben Carson: “Dr. Carson, many experts believe Russian leader Vladimir Putin has greater ideas, bigger designs for the region beyond Russia’s actions inside Ukraine. Fast forward to February 2017 and it is President Carson, and Russian uniformed commandos cross the Estonian border and they occupy a city in Estonia. Estonia, a member of NATO, essentially invokes Article V, an attack on one is an attack on all. What do you do?”

Carson gave a ridiculously muddled answer – this was his “one horse country” moment – but the real problem here was that the question was directed solely at him, and no other candidate was asked to weigh in on the matter. It’s an important question because it actually reveals something about how the candidate thinks about the world on a topic which will almost certainly confront them once in office.

The possibility that Russia will attempt to repeat the Crimean invasion of 2014 at some point is hardly farfetched. Do the candidates believe the United States ought to be prepared to go to war with Russia — understanding that this could escalate, given Russian protocols, to nuclear war — over a small town in Estonia? But if we are not, does that not render Article V effectively meaningless?

Read the full article at The Federalist: Foreign Policy Debate Questions That Need Answering