Hegemon USA's Responsibility for Crisis in Ukraine

by Stephen Lendman

Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR) slammed the notion that Russia's Ukraine campaign was "unprovoked" — as the fake Biden, other regime officials, and fake news MSM reports claim. 

"The 'unprovoked' descriptor obscures a long history of provocative behavior from the US in regards to Ukraine," FAIR explained.

In 1997, 50 former US officials addressed the issue of NATO expansion by letter to the Clinton co-presidency.

They included former senators, retired military officers, diplomats and academicians.

Warning against NATO's expansion eastward, they said the following in part:

Expanding NATO toward Russia's borders would be "a policy error of historic proportions." 

It'll "decrease allied security and unsettle European stability…"

Moscow opposes expansion for security reasons.

It'll "draw a new line of division between the 'ins' and the 'outs.' " 

It'll "foster instability, and ultimately diminish the sense of security of those countries which are not included."

It'll "inevitably degrade NATO's ability to carry out its primary mission and will involve US security guarantees to countries with serious border and national minority problems…"

The signatories "strongly urge(d) that the NATO expansion process be suspended while alternative actions are pursued," including:

A cooperative NATO-Russian relationship.

Arms reduction, especially nuclear weapons and materials.

The signatories stressed that Russia posed no threat to other European countries, adding:

"NATO expansion is neither necessary nor desirable…" 

"(T)his ill-conceived policy can and should be put on hold."

Its 50 signatories included:

Former Senator Sam Nunn

Former Senator Bill Bradley

Historian/Russian expert Richard Pipes

Military historian/strategist Edward Luttwak

Foreign policy expert Michael Mandelbaum

Former US Soviet Union envoy Jack Matlock, Jr.

Former Senator Gary Hart

Former diplomat/Russian expert Marshall Shulman

Former US war secretary Robert McNamara

Former US official Paul Nitze

Former CIA director Adm. Stansfield Turner

Former US diplomat Paul Warnke

Aged-94 at the time, former US diplomat — father of containing Russia — George Kennan called NATO's expansion "the beginning of a new cold war…a tragic mistake."

"(T)he Russians will gradually react quite adversely and it will affect their policies."

"There was no reason for this whatsoever. No one was threatening anybody else."

Despite warnings against NATO's expansion, Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic were added to the alliance in 1999.

Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia followed in 2004.

After them, Albania and Croatia were added in 2009, Montenegro in 2017 and North Macedonia in 2020.

In 2008, US envoy to Russia, current CIA director, William Burns warned against further NATO expansion, saying:

"(F)arther eastward expansion (of the alliance is) a potential military threat."

"Ukraine and Georgia's NATO aspirations not only touch a raw nerve in Russia, they engender serious concerns about the consequences for stability in the region."  

"Not only does Russia perceive encirclement, and efforts to undermine Russia's influence in the region, but it also fears unpredictable and uncontrolled consequences which would seriously affect Russian security interests."

"Russia is particularly worried that the strong divisions in Ukraine over NATO membership, with much of the ethnic Russian community against membership, could lead to a major split, involving violence or at worst, civil war."  

"In that eventuality, Russia would have to decide whether to intervene; a decision Russia does not want to have to face."

In defiance of the indivisibility of security as agreed on in the 1997 Founding Act between Russia and NATO, the alliance's "open door policy" is maintained.

While Ukraine is not a NATO member state, it's practically treated as one — short of invoking Article 5.

It considers an attack on one or more member states an attack against all — calling for collective self-defense.

Admitting Ukraine to NATO would cross an unacceptable red line for Russia.

In 1995, the country became the first former Soviet republic to join NATO's so-called Partnership for Peace.

At the time, the Clinton co-presidency called the initiative a "track" for more countries to join NATO.

Vladimir Putin earlier said the following:

"The appearance on our borders of a powerful military bloc…will be considered by Russia as a direct threat to our country's security," adding:

Russian missiles will target Ukraine if it joins NATO or allows Washington's (solely for offense) missile defense shield to be installed in the country.

Separately, he said that Moscow will "react to what's going on around us."

Granting NATO membership to Ukraine and/or Georgia will have "extremely negative consequences."

Inviting these countries to join the alliance would violate "treaties between Russia and NATO."

Admitting Ukraine to NATO is a red line not to be crossed for Russia.

Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu earlier warned that Moscow "will act" if Ukraine and/or Georgia join NATO.

Had long ago warnings of former US officials been heeded, as well as if the Obama/Biden regime's 2014 Maidan coup had not occurred, Russia's demilitarization and Nazification campaign could have been avoided.

They'd be peace and stability in central Europe instead made-in-the-USA conflict.

Instead of pursuing the former, US-dominated NATO created greater instability along Russia's borders by pouring billions of dollars worth of weapons into Ukraine for endless war on Donbass.

On day 10 of Russia's campaign, the risk of possible war between the world's dominant nuclear powers was never as worrisome as now.

Russia is responding to US/NATO's political and economic war.

If what's going on crosses the line to East/West military confrontation, all bets are off.