quote:
Not entirely accurate. We told Gorbachev that we wouldn’t expand one inch to the east. However, at this point it was still the USSR (not Russia). Our intent was that the USSR was crumbling and we didn’t want NATO expansion to interfere with that domestic pressure.

Understood. However, with the fall of the Evil Empire of the Communists, it appears that non-Commie Russia wanted to be friends and cooperate economically and militarily with the west.
We apparently said "frick off. You are still our enemy because we need a boogieman to keep the money flowing."

You are ok with that?

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Posted by bigblake

Member since Jun 2011

2519 posts

Posted on 2/11/24 at 5:18 pm to Speckhunter2012

quote:
Understood. However, with the fall of the Evil Empire of the Communists, it appears that non-Commie Russia wanted to be friends and cooperate economically and militarily with the west. We apparently said "frick off. You are still our enemy because we need a boogieman to keep the money flowing." You are ok with that?

What you wrote is commentary. I’m not sure what means/method of “frick off” we conducted to a country on the other side of the world.

Regarding NATO expansion. It wouldn’t be all too unsurprising that populations that lived under the terrible constraints of the iron curtain would want to get some additional assurances that they would not return to those conditions. The first NATO additions post Soviet collapse were Poland Hungary and Czech.

This post was edited on 2/11/24 at 5:20 pm

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Posted by Eurocat

Member since Apr 2004

15265 posts

Posted on 2/11/24 at 8:20 pm to Speckhunter2012

quote:
"With the fall of the Evil Empire of the Communists, it appears that non-Commie Russia wanted to be friends and cooperate economically and militarily with the west. We apparently said "frick off. You are still our enemy because we need a boogieman to keep the money flowing."

That is not what happened. I worked in the Latvian embassy in Russia 1991 - 1996 and both Bush and Clinto tried - desperately tried - to get first Gorbachev and then Yeltsin to "come over to our side, be normal, be western!" but they either didn't want to do it or they were too weak to do it (too much strength in the Russian military class - didn't want to lose their pensions and priviledges".

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