I have honestly been stressed out watching these events unfold over the last couple of days. I do not support Russia invading Ukraine. Where my perspective departs from the narrative in the media of late, is that I don't think responsibility for what is happening is limited to Vladimir Putin. I think there's enough blame to go around, and that America shares some responsibility along with him. What I don't like is the mind games that the United States played with Russia, goading someone that had already invaded Georgia and annexed Crimea.
We knew that Putin was shouting from the rooftops he believed NATO forces were trying to encircle Russia as we expanded into Central Europea, and showed us multiple times that he was willing to use military force on countries, if they directly boarded his own and wanted to join NATO. So in a situation this explosive, we needed to assure this man that Ukraine, the country right beside him, wasn't going to be in NATO too. Being in NATO means you have all the other countries in NATO (30 I think) as your allies, and in a conflict that you don't work out diplomatically they can send in military forces on your behalf. So if Ukraine was in, that means troops to the border for Russia.
I was talking to my dad about the NATO issue earlier this week. It was before Russia had launched a full-scale invasion, but he felt Ukraine had a right to aspire to NATO, if that is what they wanted. Who was Putin to tell them what to do? I understand the ethical argument he is making. I don't think the US is the best nation to actually make this argument, considering our history of undermining the sovereignty of other nations when their interests are in conflict with our own, but I digress. The trouble I have with US voicing support for Ukraine some day becoming a member of NATO is that this is entirely just on a principle. There's not a way we could really put this country in NATO, even if they want to be in. That's why I say we are playing games, and Ukraine is in the position of the pawn sadly. There are requirements you have to meet to be a member, and unfortunately, Ukraine doesn't have practically any of them. Ukraine does not have a healthy democracy, it cannot protect minority populations within the region, nor do they have good relations with countries outside of their border, and the current NATO members also don't want Ukraine voted in because they would all be sucked into fighting Russia if Ukraine was officially made their ally. So why even talk like this? Just to put Russia in it's place? All this does is open the door to geopolitical consequences over something we weren't ever serious about. It's nice to say that we never say never, but this was a matter of war. With so many lives potentially being the cost of the wrong answer, it was best to be cut and dry.
Instead, the US should have just told Russia unequivocally, no, don't worry, Ukraine won't be in NATO. Pretending it may evolve otherwise, doesn't help Ukraine. It would have been best to have them identified firmly as a country that would at most always be neutral, than have the empty threat of their future alliance on the table. Now Russia has called America's bluff, and unleashed their arsenal on a devoping nation that doesn't have the protection of NATO.
Now maybe nothing we said would have been enough for Russia, and they would have still invaded, we may never know, but it's just not true however that the US did all they could to try to stop this madness, the US should have agreed with Russia that Ukraine wouldn't be in NATO period.
Interesting article featured on military.com that made the case for why it needed to be said in no uncertain terms that the Ukraine would not be in Nato, not now, and not later, and how it
might have de-escalated the situation.
https://www.military.com/daily-news...o-admit-ukraine-has-no-chance-of-joining.html
