Russia, Ukraine and NATO History Lesson

[truckin]

Peter Kuznik provides a lot of important background information about the current Ukraine crisis.


The Official Project Censored Show
History Matters: Peter Kuznick on US/NATO

https://www.projectcensored.org/podcast-download/25404/history-matters-peter-kuznick-on-us-nato-tensions-russia-ukraine-and-avoiding-catastrophic-war.mp3?ref=download

[Ponietz]

1. Rec

Thanks

[Tommy Carcetti]

2. "Peter Kuznick, co-author with Oliver Stone of The Untold History of the United States..."

Yeah, no thanks on that. I'll pass.

[Tommy Carcetti]

3. I mean, when you have Tass singing your praises...

https://tass.com/world/1402137

WASHINGTON, February 12. /TASS/. The global balance of power has changed since Russian President Vladimir Putin’s speech at the 2007 Munich Security Conference and Moscow has the right to demand changes in Europe’s security while NATO keeps ignoring this situation, Director of the Nuclear Studies Institute at American University Peter Kuznick told TASS on Saturday.

"Some Western observers were caught off guard by Russia's recent demands regarding Ukraine, NATO, and Russian national security interests. I don't know what rock they've been living under for the past thirty plus years," the expert pointed out.

****


When Putin replaced Yeltsin, he held out hope for friendly relations with the West. In particular, he was the first foreign leader to reach out to US President George W. Bush in the aftermath of the terror attacks in the United States on September 11, 2001, the expert said.

"He lent support to US efforts in Afghanistan," the expert pointed out.

"But his friendship was not reciprocated when the US abrogated the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty in 2002 and invaded Iraq the following year despite fierce opposition from Russia and others," the director of the Nuclear Studies Institute said.

"NATO expansion to include seven more former Warsaw Pact and former Soviet republics in 2004 poured fuel on the fire," the expert pointed out.

[Ponietz]

5. Kuznick does sound biased toward Russia...

…the same way Chomsky did before he realized Republicans were THE immediate existential threat to his continued existence.

Still, there is food for thought there. For instance, should the U.S. recognize something akin to a Monroe doctrine for Russia and China? I don’t know, but it seems a reasonable question.

[Tommy Carcetti]

6. How about what the Ukrainians want?

True, admission into NATO is far from a given at this point, but isn't it up to them whether or not they want to desire to join it?

[Ponietz]

7. Yes, unless it jeopardizes our security

But, in 1963, what “the Cubans” wanted didn’t factor in. Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba crossed the red line and they had to go. Kennedy made it unequivocally clear.

“This person keeps telling me what his red line is, I best believe him”, thought Nikita Khrushchev.

[truckin]

8. What would the Ukrainian's choose?

Do you think the Ukrainian people would accept exclusion from NATO to avoid an invasion? Would the Ukrainian government? My guess is they would, but I really don't know.

[Tommy Carcetti]

9. Ukrainians on NATO and EU

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/by-huge-margin-ukrainians-favor-holding-a-referendum-on-whether-to-join-nato-remain-neutral-or-partner-with-russia-according-to-the-premise-poll-which-conducted-a-nationwide-survey-of-1-032-ukrainians-on-february-9--301480696.html

WASHINGTON, Feb. 11, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- In a survey conducted in Ukraine in a single day among 1,032 Ukrainians nationwide, 77% – more than three quarters – of respondents said they favored holding a referendum on whether to join NATO, remain neutral, or align with Russia, with results favoring the referendum across the board by region, gender, and age.

Respondents in the survey were given a definition of NATO as "the American-European joint military defense alliance" before answering the questions. Here are some of the significant findings:

Ukrainian respondents overwhelmingly favored joining NATO vs. neutrality by an almost two-to-one margin (55%-28%). They also indicated they would vote to join NATO vs. partnering with Russia by a 7:1 margin (55%- 8%).
Almost 2 out of 3 Ukrainians in the sample (65%) see economic benefits to joining the European Union, more than four times than those who prefer partnering with Russia economically (14%).

[Tommy Carcetti]

10. ...

Link to tweet

[harumph]

4. still trying...