A rebuttal to the idea that the West contributed to the current crisis by supporting NATO expansion. 1.) It is naive. It accepts Putin's false rationale for his action. He obliterated this argument when he made his real argument: That Ukraine does not exist & is part of Russia.
2.) Putin's argument that the historical boundaries of the Russian empire or Soviet Union should fall under Moscow's control only underscores how important it was that former Soviet states were able to join NATO and gain its protections.
The reason Ukraine was targeted was because it was not a member of NATO not because it was. It was vulnerable and Putin, a predator, sought and seeks to take advantage of that.
3.) The states that joined NATO did so freely and as a matter of their choice. It is ironic that arguments about US or Western over-reach seek to make the case that the west should have decided these states' future. They are in NATO because they valued the relationship.
It is ironic that these arguments arise now, during the week that Vladimir Putin has done everything in his power to demonstrate that NATO expansion was not only the right path, it was the only path that could guarantee European security such as it has been for 30 years.
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