Closer ties with the countries of Central Europe are a national security policy priority for the Trump administration—and a long-overdue return to the policies of President George W. Bush after years of neglect by the Obama administration. Within NATO, these countries are reliable allies, and within the European Union, they form a bloc friendly to Washington. Twenty years ago last month, Hungary, Poland, and the Czech Republic became members of the NATO. It was a historic reversal, moving from the Warsaw Pact to NATO, and a great affirmation of their independence from Soviet/Russian domination. In his March 13 speech at the 20th anniversary commemoration, U.S. Ambassador to Hungary David Cornstein recalled that Hungarians in 1999 voted by 85% in favor of joining NATO.

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