One November years ago, I attended a one-week security course at the NATO School in Oberammergau, Germany. Oberammergau is a beautiful Bavarian town nestled below the Alps in the southern part of Germany. Winter had settled in, and the temperatures were bitterly cold. Fortunately, the autobahns were well maintained, with snow cleared and roads salted, which made my five-hour drive from Kaiserslautern much safer. 

As I approached the Bavarian region, I saw that the snowfall had been at its...