Here is Doug Bandow's contribution to the subject, as of today.

The NATO Alliance: Dangerous Anachronism
Doug Bandow
October 17, 2008
......
The impact of the Russia-Georgia war continues to reverberate. Gen. James Craddock, NATO's Supreme Commander, has requested authority to develop contingency plans to defend the Eastern European countries. ....
http://www.antiwar.com/bandow/?articleid=13603

Tis not my purpose here to argue the pros and cons of Mr. Bandow's views. You can (and will) draw your own conclusions.

One comment in the article struck my eye:

.... The 27 members of the European Union have a larger population and GDP than America and are well capable of asserting their own interests. Since they can rely on Washington, they spend only about half as much on the military as does the US, and have created forces with just a fraction of the combat capabilities of America's military. Moreover, they are talking about cutting outlays in the midst of the ongoing economic crisis. However, if they could no longer free ride on the US, they would have to honestly assess the risk of Russian aggression and take whatever steps they deemed necessary to prevent such a possibility. And they could decide whether Georgia, Ukraine, or any other country truly was a "bulwark against Russian expansionism."
The EU also has a much larger larger population and GDP than Russia (now below 150 million). In fact, the countries nearest Russia (not counting Belorus & Ukraine) have a substantial combined population.

(from 2008 CIA World Factbook)
Sweden - 9,045,389 (July 2008 est.)
Finland - 5,244,749 (July 2008 est.)
Estonia - 1,307,605 (July 2008 est.)
Latvia - 2,245,423 (July 2008 est.)
Lithuania - 3,565,205 (July 2008 est.)
Poland - 38,500,696 (July 2008 est.)
Czech Republic - 10,220,911 (July 2008 est.)
Slovakia - 5,455,407 (July 2008 est.)
Hungary - 9,930,915 (July 2008 est.)
Of course, building an alliance from the above would be akin to herding cats. And, in an era where Sweden has more generals than cannon (and more admirals than warships), the military inclination of some of these nations seems questionable.

What say all about Mr. Bandow's suggestion "if they could no longer free ride on the US, etc." ?