As we discuss Russia and Ukraine it’s good to keep NATO and The Warsaw Pact histories in Mind. We’ve already looked at the formation of these alliances; let’s take a look at
As we discuss Russia and Ukraine it’s good to keep NATO and The Warsaw Pact histories in Mind. We’ve already looked at the formation of these alliances; let’s take a look at NATOs more recent history. 7 new countries were added to NATO and assisted in the Iraq and Afghanistan war. Russia’s pushing NATO back is something they have been contemplating since 2004. All they’ve been doing is waiting for the right moment to strike. With a weak, cognitively failing, frail and compromised “leader of the free world”, this would be the perfect time within the last 20 years to play out its ambitions and “act accordingly” to protect themselves from NATO allies in the Baltic region.
Direct Quotes
The relatively young democracies that joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization yesterday included three former Soviet republics -- the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania -- and three members of the former Warsaw Pact: Bulgaria, Romania and Slovakia. The seventh, Slovenia, was part of the former Yugoslavia. The invitation to join the alliance was extended at the NATO summit in Prague in November 2002 and was approved unanimously by the U.S. Senate last May.
The expansion of NATO from 19 to 26 countries tips the balance of the Atlantic alliance further eastward -- and tends to make the group as a whole more sympathetic to U.S. foreign policy. The seven, for example, backed Bush's move toward war in Iraq early last year, even as original NATO members France and Germany opposed him.
Bush pointedly noted in his remarks that all seven nations are playing supporting roles for U.S.-led military operations in Iraq or Afghanistan. Bulgaria, he said, provided refueling facilities for aircraft during the 2001 Afghan campaign and also has sent more than 400 soldiers to Iraq. Military engineers from Estonia and Latvia are helping clear explosives in Iraq, and forces from Lithuania and Slovakia also have served there, he said. Romanian and Slovenian troops have deployed to Afghanistan, he added.
Russian officials have said they will respond if NATO's eastward expansion begins to look threatening. "If NATO believes that there is any need for such protection in the Baltic region, Russia reserves the right to draw its own conclusions from it and, if necessary, to act accordingly," Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Yakovenko was quoted as saying by Itar-Tass, the AP said.
#USA #TheChubbyCaucasianChristianClosetedConservative #Bush #NATO #Ukraine
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