Dusting off the language of the Cold War

BERLIN — Checkpoint Charlie. The Iron Curtain. The Wall.

Only old cold warriors, or fans of very early le Carré, hanker for the days of Europe’s division when watchtowers and razor wire divided a continent, and a concrete barrier sundered this city — twin scars of competition between East and West.

Suddenly, though, with President Vladimir V. Putin’s takeover of Crimea and the massing of Russian troops near eastern Ukraine, the Cold War lexicon has been dusted off, along with the logic that underlay it.

A top NATO general speaks of Russia as an adversary. A former British commander urges reinforcements along the Rhine. Their words seemed to revive familiar imagery of the past — armor and infantry moving across the checkerboard of a divided Europe....