“Poor countries needing investment and favors from their richer counterparts should polish their images and avoid rows,” you ruminate about Eastern Europe’s image (“The Awkward Squad,” August 13, 2011). In this context, you mention Hungary, the Czech Republic, Poland, Belarus, Russia, and even Georgia. “The awkward squad tends to despise conventional diplomacy and public relations,” you continue, “and is therefore bad at them.” However, awkwardness has incurred little visible penalty. This is because the countries in question, as well as many others, are “indispensable” to modern Europe, you conclude. Why are they indispensable, though? Because the erstwhile cordon sanitaire has an awkward tendency to switch allegiances, as witnessed by the Warsaw Pact of yesteryear. In geopolitical terms, the eastern front is still far from settled, and the European Union had better keep this in mind.