On Tuesday, you may recall, we editorialized that the expansion of NATO to Central and Eastern Europe was a "historic blunder" given the promises that were made to the Soviet Union and the domestic fears in modern Russia.

Today, kicking of a semi-new* feature here in Opinion land, we are publishing online a full-length response by Daniel Fried, assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs. Excerpt:

I had thought that the evident success of NATO enlargement had dispelled any doubts that had been raised at the time. But I relish the opportunity to revisit the argument. Indeed, I take immense pleasure in affirming that there was no Yalta moment during the break up of the Soviet Union, nor at any time since.

Whole thing here.

* We have in the past published online rebuttals such as contractor Ron Tutor's response to Steve Lopez's column about the big dig across our street, and also a Jack Valenti response to an editorial about the Motion Picture Association of America ... but you'll start seeing these things much more frequently from now on, under the heading of "Blowback."