I understand that the article explains Putin's position, but explaining Putin's own reasons for his actions doesn't come anywhere close to implicating the US or

I understand that the article explains Putin's position, but explaining Putin's own reasons for his actions doesn't come anywhere close to implicating the US or Europe. And even so, it's not the article's main focus. This is: "the United States and its European allies share most of the responsibility for the crisis." Most of the responsibility? Really? It would be one thing if he said "Putin's crossed the line, but the US and Europe could have played better politics to prevent this crisis." Then, maybe, he'd have a point. But he's putting the responsibility of the invasion of a sovereign nation and the annexation of its territory with no regard for the self determination of its peoples on the shoulders of the US and Europe, which is just backwards. Mearsheimer can't make NATO responsible for Putin's thuggery, for the same reason that you can't make the twin towers responsible for 9/11. I have to dismiss your analogy outright because clearly, Ukraine didn't get to vote to have itself invaded by Russia. If there was a whiff of credible evidence that Ukrainians en masse had a democratic desire to be a part of Putin's Russia, it would be a different story.