Biden and US seemed more concerned with throwing their weight around than listening to long-standing concerns. But in addition, read Reagan era ambassador Jack Matlock's words - somebody who was at the table for big events. US alliance with Ukraine makes war more, not less likely
Kyiv regime has been at war with Russian-speaking separatists for eight years and has killed thousands of them. It was, and is, madness for Western countries to allow Kyiv regime to be tail that wags dog in potentially catastrophic war-peace decisions betwe US and Russia.
if Kyiv regime had been cut loose years ago, they would have been forced to make practical accommodations and none of this would have happened.
Sometimes smaller countries beside a more powerful neighbor have to bite their tongue and make nice. Canadians know this very well. US wouldn't allow Russian missile bases in Canada. Everyone knows it.
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here's something interesting: the Iraq invasion began on Mar 19, 2003. One week later, NATO made big expansion towards Russia, admitting Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Bulgaria, Romania, Slovenia and Slovakia. nato.int/cps/en/natoliv…
2/ Baltic states were immediate neighbors. Addition of Lithuania even created NATO barrier separating Kaliningrad from rest of Russia.
3/ Hard to see how accession of any these nations contributed to improved security on NORTH ATLANTIC, the stated purpose of NATO. Question: did these nations contribute troops to US' Iraq invasion adventure? Was that connected to NATO admission?
how is it that NATO countries can decide on access to SWIFT without agreement with China, India, Africa, South America and rest of world?
one of the little understood purposes of NATO (and I hadn't thought about this prior to present crisis) is that its functioned as a sort of US and Europe workaround to the United Nations, where Second and Third World nations have a say. (There's another obvious descriptor.)
one of the characteristics of Syrian war against AlQaeda and ISIS was that heavily fortified fronts scarcely moved, but rapid advances occurred from "behind". That's happening in Ukr. While media watch Kyiv, rapid advance from south to encircle Maniupol and entire Azov coastline.
it's very difficult for Donetsk (or Russian) forces to advance against entrenched Kyiv regime forces along line that's contested for 8 years. But when Kyiv forces start to get surrounded by advance from south, they will probably retreat, leaving Mariupol in a pocket.
@Suriyakmaps should have an updated map today (I clipped from him in diagram above)
on Nov 2, 2021, Dmitri Yarosh, leader of neo-Nazi Pravy Sektor during 2014 US-backed regime change coup, was named Advisor to the Commander-in-Chief of Ukrainian military. facebook.com/dyastrub/posts…
Yarosh on diversity, equity and inclusion:
here is 2015 video on Pravy Sektor, the movement led at the time by the recently appointed Advisor to the Commander-in-Chief of Ukrainian military. Not entirely unreasonable for neighboring nation to be concerned about such influence.
WaPo notes inconsistency in Biden admin reasoning on sanctions, but misses a major point: WaPo doesn't report here that sanctions (on Nordstream 2) were actually imposed BEFORE the attack.
2/ US imposed sanctions on Nordstream 2 because Russia gave diplomatic recognition to the two Donbass republics that had previously declared independece in 2014 during Obama admin (shortly after US-backed regime change coup). BEFORE attack.
3/ so whatever deterrent effect was possessed by threat of Nordstream 2 sanctions on an ATTACK was used instead as retaliation for the mere DIPLOMATIC RECOGNITION of the two Donbass republics.
On Feb 7, 2014, Victoria Nuland, the aspiring Boadicea of Ukraine (h/t @HisBlakeness), designated "Yats" as the leader of incoming puppet government. Democratically elected president was ousted 2 weeks later by US-backed neo-Nazis.
Hillary Clinton's BFF Yulia Timoshenko's preferred policy for dealing with ethnic Russian population marooned in Ukraine was genocide with nuclear weapons. She made her money by corrupt transactions that would be pre-empted with Nordstream 2.
top left- Nuland with Yats, Klitshcko and Tyahnybuk after coup. Tyahnybuk (warmly greeted by Biden) was founder of neo-Nazi party (bottom left) that used Nazi SS Wolfsangel as symbol. These are who US is supporting.