I'm somewhat startled that Sachs subscribes to exactly the same reasoning as me. The U.S. would never have allowed Mexico or Canada to become Communist allies d

I'm somewhat startled that Sachs subscribes to exactly the same reasoning as me. The U.S. would never have allowed Mexico or Canada to become Communist allies during the Cold War, no matter international law says, we would've invaded. Also, not letting Ukraine join NATO is not a sign of appeasement. It's just showing consideration of how important the joining of a former Soviet state is to Russia. The U.S. has quietly been prodding former Soviet states to join NATO. Ukraine, Belarus and Georgia, all being poor are easy converts in that sense. We tried it also with Kazakhstan, but that country being affluent due to its oil-reserves isn't so easily turned and has pushed back. It wants to continue to have good relations with its Northern neighbor. Maybe we should compromise by letting Ukraine join the EU, but not NATO.