Posted on 03/13/2022 1:26:49 PM PDT by ChicagoConservative27
Following the collapse of the Soviet Union in late 1991, former President Richard Nixon was hopeful that with substantial American leadership and Western support, Russia could be set on a path toward enduring democracy and away from foreign adventurism. Unfortunately, his early warnings about the fragility of the nascent Russian democracy were not heeded, and by the time he visited Russia for the last time in 1994, he found deepening chaos.
(Excerpt) Read more at newsweek.com ...
Wow, now the media needs to rehabilitate Nixon to justify WW3. Makes me think that this round of talks may just be going well and thereby scaring the crap out of the Americans who were using Ukraine as a money laundering piggy bank.
So now they briefly stop condemning Nixon, whom they always hated and is dead. These people will say anything.
These clowns even praised Bush and Romney as some sort of wonderful conservatives during Trump’s administration. They hated Bush and Romney with the same passion.
China looked at Russia in 1991-92 - and quickly decided: we need economic liberalization, to provide basic necessities and jobs for people, but we do NOT want political liberalization, lest we collapse.
But unfortunately after the collapse of the USSR rather than scale back NATO till a new strategic mission could be found and clearly stated along rational grounds, the vested interest of member nations demanded nothing could change because closing US bases would harm their local economies (a German specifically said this).
As a consequence NATO became a sort of country club with benefits paid for at American expense … a country club which almost anyone but a few could join, guaranteeing future tensions with the few categorically excluded. Especially as more countries bellied on up to the bar.
The new post-USSR NATO isn’t exactly as bullocks as the pre-WW1 system of alliances were … but then again it comes when nukes are in the world.
They even praised Reagan after he died.
When this mess is over it might be time to re-think the situation.
By far the best article written on this subject. I read every book Nixon ever wrote. He was by far the best American president in terms of foreign policy. The man was brilliant
Closing our bases would still hurt their local economies … so since the SOP of our government is to have Americans bend over and take it, I’m guessing NATO will not be reconsidered.
It’s good to see Monica Crowley’s byline here again, even if FR spelled her name wrong.
Do you really think the opening to Red China was a good idea?
I do but the trade deals our leadership made that soured the whole affair.
If you want to go back in time and lay blame, blame it on bushie 1... I was pissed at the way he handled the fledgling democracy that was post Soviet Russia. All of this falls squarely in his lap
Reagan wanted a Marshall Plan for Russia. Bush and Clinton just wanted to exploit Russia when it was down.
It was the proper card to play against the Soviet Union at the time. The problem USG kept playing the card long after it was needed. Bush I completely fumbled the card with his Tiananmen Square response. (Scowcroft & Bush I had this ‘status quo’ in regard to borders and foreign policy fixation.) Clinton continued to fumble the card. He did it so bad the card started working against us. Administrations simply forgot what the regime really was or didn’t want to know. This became particularly apparent with the rise of Xi. It continued to work against until Trump. Now it’s being used against us again.
Solzhenitsyn and William Burns completely disagree with Nixon.
Monica Crowley is a conservative. She worked for Nixon.
You have to remember that Nixon subscribed to the realpolitik theory (so does Trump for that matter). At the time, we were fully engaged in a zero-sum game with the Soviets. The enemy of my enemy is my friend. Unfortunately, others have screwed the pooch on China and now Russia and China are together again. We are back to status quo ante....but at the time it helped further drive a wedge between those two who had disputes over the dialectic.
he was 40 years ahead of his time....and there was no fkn doubt who was in charge. Basically told the State Department to drop dead...it was his foreign policy and no one else’s. Once China stunned everybody and attained a nuclear bomb, he knew they’d have to be dealt with eventually. Soviets were afraid of Nixon...he backed em down twice...he just projected power. He was brilliant.
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