NATO Expansion May Have Caused the Ukraine - Russia Conflict
August 6, 2024•351 words
"Russia is a part of European culture. Therefore, it is with difficulty that I imagine NATO as an enemy." ~ Vladimir Putin
"NATO and the USA wanted a complete victory over the Soviet Union. They wanted to sit on the throne in Europe alone." ~ Vladimir Putin
"Truman is now seen as a near-great president because he put in place the containment doctrine boosted by the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan and NATO, which historians now see as having been at the center of American success in the cold war." ~ Robert Dallek
When Nazi Germany invaded Poland in 1939, they sent over 2.5 million soldiers to take the western half, while the Soviet Union deployed nearly 2 million soldiers to capture the eastern part.
Currently, there is no evidence that Russia, with only 200,000 soldiers, aims to occupy Ukraine or the rest of Europe. Russia has repeatedly requested a ceasefire and peace talks with Ukraine, but the USA has encouraged the Ukrainian government to continue the conflict.
Powerful military nations act according to realist principles, which can lead to peace, cooperation, and mutual growth, or cause war.
During the Cold War, the ideologically opposed great powers, the United States and the Soviet Union, understood the balance of power and avoided direct conflict to prevent nuclear war.
Today, China, the world's second-largest economy, has emerged as a great power and is demonstrating a realist approach in military matters.
After the Cold War, the United States, as a dominant military power with a liberal democracy, has become less realist. American political and military leaders often overlook how NATO expansion into Ukraine could cause conflict, not fully appreciating the history and international politics of Eastern Europe.
Most of Europe now views the world as multipolar, recognizing the presence of large economies and powerful nations with significant military and nuclear capabilities.