Gambling World War III

The last day of February was a day of “great television.” President Trump told President Zelensky “You’re gambling with World War III.” Conservative columnist Bret Stephens called it “a day of American infamy.” The liberal columnist Thomas L. Friedman described it as an “obviously preplanned ambush.” The “slap down in the Oval Office,” demonstrated President Trump wants to end the senseless war. The revolutionary pacifist A.J. Muste said “War is not an accident. It is the logical outcome of a certain way of life.” The Wall Street Journal admits “the ‘root causes’ of the conflict,” is what Russia refers to as “NATO’s expansion into Eastern Europe after the Cold War.” The Economic Times acknowledged this when they quoted President Trump. He said Ukraine joining NATO was “probably the reason the whole thing started.”
Vladimir Putin made the same point the day Russia’s criminal invasion began. “There were promises to our country not to expand NATO even one inch to the east… This is the very red line that has been talked about many times.” The National Security Archive recorded famous assurances from Western leaders to Russia. U.S. Secretary of State James Baker agreed with Mikhail Gorbachev “NATO expansion is unacceptable.” Secretary of State Baker said, “not one inch eastward.” Yet, under Clinton, NATO expanded eastward. According to the Republic of Poland “In July 1994, during his first visit to Warsaw, Bill Clinton said that NATO enlargement was not a matter of ‘if’ but ‘when and how.’” Then the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia and Hungary joined NATO. George W. Bush extended NATO expansion to Ukraine. The Former Director of the CIA William J. Burns explained in his memoir “The Back Channel,” the danger of US actions. “Ukrainian entry into NATO is the brightest of all redlines for the Russian elite (not just Putin).”
Provocations continued. The Obama and Trump administrations appropriated millions of taxpayer dollars to Ukraine. Defense News reported “The U.S. has committed more than $1.5 billion in security assistance to Ukraine,” from 2014 until 2019. In 2017, Trump provided lethal aid to Ukraine in the form of Javelin missiles and launchers. Under Biden, the warmongering reached a fever pitch. Historian Robert Service wrote about it in the Wall Street Journal. “The first came on Nov. 10, (2021) when the U.S. and Ukraine signed a Charter on Strategic Partnership…. The pact made it likelier than ever that Ukraine would eventually join NATO.” In response, Russia amassed hundreds of thousands of troops on the border. Once the invasion began, Biden’s proxy war commenced. The Washington Post wrote, “The United States is involved in virtually every aspect of the war.” The Guardian revealed “Leaked US military documents indicate… US officials assessed at the time that of the 97 special forces from Nato countries active in Ukraine,” 14 special forces were American. The New York Times reported, “C.I.A. personnel have continued to operate in the country secretly.” It’s Washington that gambles with World War III and millions of lives.

Anton Porcari

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