Posted on 03/04/2022 4:50:20 PM PST by E. Pluribus Unum
As war rages in Ukraine following the invasion by Russia, the realities on the ground are difficult to assess—it is estimated that thousands have been killed, including hundreds of civilians, and up to a million forced to flee their homes.
Although Russian President Vladimir Putin is rightly deserving of blame, top U.S. officials over the past decade have played important roles in critical events that undermined U.S. relations with Russia and resulted in the destabilization of Ukraine.
The deterioration in our relations with Russia, in many ways started with President George W. Bush in 2008 when he dangled before Ukraine the promise of NATO membership during the Bucharest declaration, boldly claiming, “We agreed today that these countries will become members of NATO.”
The promise of NATO membership for Ukraine was something that has never been taken lightly by Russia, which has remained resolutely opposed to any NATO expansion along its borders.
In 1990, U.S. Secretary of State James Baker and German Foreign Minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher had promised the Kremlin not to expand NATO eastwards in return for German unification. However, in the decades that followed this promise, NATO incorporated 14 additional Eastern European countries.
In his 2020 memoir, Joe Biden’s current CIA director, Bill Burns, explicitly warned about the dangers posed by Ukraine gaining NATO membership, citing his own words in 2008 to then-Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice: “Ukrainian entry into NATO is the brightest of all redlines for the Russian elite (not just Putin). ”
(Excerpt) Read more at theepochtimes.com ...
Russia can join NATO.
This is crap.
Bush...
“The Epoch Times”
They need to SHUT DOWN this outfit, as they are publishing truthful stories.
Very good analysis
“Russia can join NATO.”
That’s kind of like saying North Korea can join NATO. Uh, no, they can’t. The rest of the alliance neither wants nor trusts them at this point.
There was a time 20-25 years ago when it might have been possible. If Russia had drifted in the direction of seeing itself as a European country like Ukraine and the Baltics did, things might have gone differently. But it’s not possible now. Putin has rejected the European direction in favor an attempt as resurrecting old Russia’s Eurasian empire.
“There was a time 20-25 years ago when it might have been possible..
That’s the point.
They chose the path. It wasn’t foisted on them, as you well describe.
Putin is foolish and has made bad decisions his entire tenure.
Now he’s chosen to become a mass murderer.
Very good piece. Thanks for posting it.
The Biden fluffers will be mad...
“Russia can join NATO.”
Umm...what?
“Russia can join NATO.”
Umm...what?
-
Any European country can join.
It’s a mutual defense organization.
“Any European country can join.”
No, they can’t. They have to be invited. And all NATO members must agree.
Your lack of knowledge on the subject, combined with your hubris, lets everyone on FR know not to take you seriously.
On anything.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.