Kuala Lampur, Sept. 14 -- The deployment of a Natoaircraft carrier to Norwegian waters this month has been hailed in Europe as both reassurance and deterrence. Reassurance, because it tells member states on Nato's northern flank that they will not stand alone in the face of Russian assertiveness. Deterrence, because it signals to Moscow that the alliance retains overwhelming military power and is prepared to project it into the Arctic and the North Atlantic. The symbolism is unmistakable: Norway is Europe's "Eastern Sentry," standing watch over a frontier where geography and geopolitics converge.

For Nato, the lessons of history have hardened into doctrine. The Cold War may have ended, but the principles of deterrence remain the same: sh...