John J. Mearsheimer: The Ukraine Crisis is the West's fault
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This is talk from 2015, but it is a very good one.
It is widely reported that when the USSR withdrew from Eastern Europe, the Americans and NATO promised them that NATO would not be moving east. Instead, it did move east, taking advantage of temporary Russian weakness. It is now on Russia's doorsteps - including not just Warsaw Pact members, but some member states of the USSR itself.
The fact of the matter is that Georgia and Ukraine have absolutely no business becoming members of NATO. Are the Americans going to risk nuclear war over the borders of Georgia, when they don't give a damn about their own borders?
If NATO is correct to move into Ukraine, and the Russians are the alleged belligerents for making a point of that, will Americans then concede that Khrushchev was correct to move nuclear missiles into Cuba?
Khrushchev violated the century old Monroe Doctrine trying to put missiles into Cuba. People forget that part as well. And it wasn’t the first time the United States was willing to go to war with a European power over their meddling in the Western Hemisphere.
He did violate the Monroe Doctrine.
Which is just the US asserting its right to keep other countries out. It's not any sort of law. Putin can also say that he doesn't want NATO at his borders, and that would have equal validity.
And the other counties who just gained independence after a half century of occupation might not give a damn what Their former occupiers wanted too…
I am not sure you can refer to a region that was under Russian control between 1720 (or thereabouts) and 1991 as being 'occupied'.
An occupation is an occupation regardless of length, especially when some of those countries had periods of individual statehood.
There was no such country before. So how can you claim it was 'occupied' between 1720 and 1991?
Incorrect. The oldest recorded mention of the word ukraina dates back to the year 1187. In connection with the death of the Volodymyr Hlibovych, the ruler of Principality of Pereyaslavl which was Kyïv's southern shield against the Wild Fields, the Hypatian Codex says "Oukraina groaned for him", ѡ нем же Оукраина много постона[5]o nem že Oukraina mnogo postona).[6] In the following decades and centuries this term was applied to fortified borderlands of different principalities of Rus' without a specific geographic fixation: Halych-Volhynia, Pskov, Ryazan etc.
Yes he was correct to move missiles into Cuba, given the situation.
Imagine Russians becoming buddies with Mexico or Canada. Maybe wanting to put a few defensive missile installations there. Mass some troops. You know. FOR STABILITY.
In the 20s, Mexico became the first nation in the Americas to recognize the USSR. The Soviet Union named the first female ambassador ever (Aleksandra Kollontai) and her first assigned post was to Mexico. Not to mention Trotsky fled to Mexico, who offered him asylum, and lived with 2 Mexican communist artists (where he cucked the husband) after he fell out with Stalin and was killed by a Spanish exile who was part of the NKVD and sent there to kill him while posing as the wife's secretary's boyfriend. So that idea isn't THAT far fetched.
. To tell you the truth, those countries are not part of Russia anymore and they have the right to choose which alliance they join. They are not Russia playthings. Sure one can claim the same saying they are not nato playthings. But they can choose which alliance. Join Russia, stay independent or join nato. Joining Russia one gets Belarus, joining Nato they get protection without spending all their gdp in defense in hopes that Russia doesn't steam roll them in days. Because Russia is belligerent. Or stay independent and hope the international community can say some stiff words against Russia when they invade.(Like Hong Kong, Taiwan when China decides to invade)
Russia needs to understand that these countries are not part of the USSR. That we have a bigger concerns and that concern is China. And we should join forces against that country... But Biden being a useless weakling allowed this...
Russia also has the right to disagree, but not at the sake of the independence of other countries.
Theoretically, they do, but the anarchy of international relations does not recognize such a thing as a 'right'. If Mexico or Canada wanted to join an alliance hostile to the US, you can rest assured that the US would do something about it.
Taiwan has a security guarantee from the US, but is not a member of any alliance.
Just from a Realpolitik perspective, the US alienating Russia is pretty dumb on its part. But if it did, it would have to abandon dreams of spreading 'democracy' (globohomo) to countries like Ukraine.
Yep, pretty much what Russia is doing, they have a right to throw the temper tantrum. But I trust Russia to be the good guys far less than I trust nato. And we all know nato is guilty of some very questionable stuff. But nothing of the size of what we see from Russia both present and past. But yes,
They do, but until America gets there, they are on their own. Nato offer more immediate protection. For instance Poland coming to aid Estonia.
Agreed. If tangerine man was still president we wouldn't see this. Russia was pretty dormant in comparison to Obama and Brandon's rule.
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I... have severe doubts about that. Estonia would probably be overrun before Poland has even gotten its forces ready.
The funny thing is that Trump was much tougher on Russia than these two, which was considered a mistake by a lot of realist IR scholars - for precisely that reason.
I don't know, I still trust nato more than Russia, the former genocidal commies. But those countries are outsourcing their defense, so I can't really blame them.
Either way, have an updoot as you make some good points, sir.
If I were Poland, I'd definitely want to be in NATO.
But if I were Russia, I'd definitely not want NATO in my backyard.
Ukraine was leaning towards Russia under Yanukovych, but he got overthrown by stormfags with western support.
Yeah, we didn’t honor our agreement in exchange for Ukraine giving up their nuclear weapons…