>Check out a map of the Warsaw Pact. Most of those Eastern European nations were forcibly enlisted by the Soviets, including tanks on city streets. What was between Holland and the same fate? Only Germany, a nation that was disarmed and already divided into 3 zones, bringing the Soviets even closer to you. Troops were placed in the US and British zones to protect against Soviet incursion. Whose troops were they? Can we agree that although the Netherlands was a member of NATO, its contribution was not heavily military?

The netherlands is a small country, but we had basis stationed in Germany as well. Some of my friends regulary were in germany for training. It it very easy to oversee the dutch contribution to NATO, but we are there in almost every conflict. We were there in Libanon, Yugoslavia, Iraq and are present in afghanistan. Since the fall of the warschaw pact, the dutch military has decreased and more aimed for remote missions rather than self defense.

>You did not have to gird yourselves fully for war, even though it was right at your doorstep. Why not? The threat was real, the tanks were real. Could it have been to do with the troops and nuclear weapons stationed in Germany, ready to retaliate if the tanks rolled?

Again, at that time europe itself was not powerless against the russians, and I don't think the russians had the intention to expand to the west much more than it had already. Though the threats of nuclear weapons did play a role in here, I fail to see that the situation would be much different if the US retreated. The west-german army was by then fully recovered from WWII, and surely the remaining allied forces (e.g. britain, french, canadians) would not tollerate any invasion of the russians into western germany.

This does not mean however that the US did play a significant role in the ensuring peace, but to say that if it was not for the US, we would not have the freedom we experience today is a bit too far stretched to me. Also bear in mind that the fall of the pact large came from within (the very poor econmical situation of russia) giving back freedom to the east-european countries. The role of the US in this process is minimal.