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The American Pundits Who Can’t Resist “Westsplaining” Ukraine

• MattGaiser 5y ago
  This is what I don't get about the Putin apologists. Nobody really wants Georgia or Ukraine or Kosovo in NATO. Nobody went about wooing them. They militarily add very little. Having them doesn't meaningfully contain Russia (well, maybe it does now given their poor performance). Everyone is aware that Russia would be unhappy about not getting to invade them anymore. Nobody had to convince Poland, Czech Republic, or Slovakia that NATO was a good idea. When they wanted to join, debate raged within NATO about whether it would annoy Russia and plenty had a negative reaction. Plenty opposed it at the time. No, they persistently wanted in and made enormous changes to be let in as they knew that Russia had a habit of mauling its neighbours (having been mauled for the past 50 years) and did not want that to happen anymore. John Mearsheimer and Co would have you believe that the USA dragged them inside the castle. Rather, they ran to the castle door pleading for their lives, as those are the stakes of having Russia as a neighbour and not having allies. Adding lots of smaller countries to NATO doesn't provide much military value. But it does mean that your neighbours get to live in peace and not be slaughtered.