It is not appeasement to simply keep promises made and agreements signed. NATO and the US promised to not encroach toward Russian borders. Russia no longer has the USSR or the Warsaw Pact as its defense. It wanted assurances that NATO (its longtime enemy) would not move closer to its borders. That is not appeasment. That is integrity. Keeping promises. Making your word mean something.
Then we also take this newly open country, Russia and reward their move toward capitalism and free trade by controlling them with sanctions. That is plain stupid. How long did we work to help move them in a freer direction?
Gotta go.
Boy I wonder if Russia promised not to encroach toward NATO borders at the same time. LOLOL
It’s unfortunate that Communism fell in Europe on Bush’s watch instead of on Reagan’s watch.
It wanted a veto over what the newly freed nations could freely do?
Hmmm... Why did the US get so upset when we found out that Cuba had made a request to the USSR to install nuclear-armed missiles in Cuba, and that the USSR was planning on doing it? Shouldn’t Cuba, as a sovereign country, have a right to form alliances, and arm itself, as it sees fit?
Also, during the First World War, the US got REALLY upset (and it was cited as one of the major reasons for our entering the war) when we found out there were conversations going on between Germany and Mexico regarding Mexico’s entering the war on Germany’s side, and that Mexico would receive as compensation land in the Southwest USA? (The XYZ Affair.) Shouldn’t Mexico have a right to form its own alliances?