Column #413       July 28, 2023

How well do you know our country’s history—even recent history? Or in most cases do you draw a blank like most of today’s young people? For instance, the war between Russia and Ukraine is impacting most of the people on Earth. If it’s such a big deal, why is it so few Americans are aware of the lead-in to our country’s involvement in this European conflict? Nearly all media outlets, including Fox News and even some Newsmax commentators, support Ukraine in the conflict and call for more Ukrainian assistance. Many politicians on both sides of the isle are doing the same thing. Two of Ukraine’s biggest supporters are Biden and Pense. For sure the Deep State is pushing for more aid to Ukraine and stating that the goal is total victory over Russia. What motivates them?

Was Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine the cause? We’re being told that Putin’s invasion is the beginning of his goal to conquer all of Europe? Is that true? Sixty years ago we were told the same thing about communists and Vietnam. If we didn’t win in Vietnam, the communists would sweep all of Asia and it would be like the end of the world for all the people living in that region. Do you remember that? But after the USA withdrew from Vietnam, instead of there being a political disaster for the entire region, peace brought a transitional rebuilding phase that eventually resulted in Vietnam becoming a trading partner. Go figure.¹

Michael Chapman, from The Libertarian Institute, recently wrote an article explaining what lead up to the Russia/Ukraine conflict. It traces back to 1990—33 years ago. Unfortunately, only a handful of Americans is aware of what took place when the USSR collapsed. They only know what they’ve been told during the past 500 days of war. To fill in the years prior to the invasion, I’m going to use excerpts from Chapman’s article to put together a condensed overview of why Putin decided to invade Ukraine. Chapman’s article is more in-depth.²

The Biden administration contends “that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has nothing to do with NATO expansion” or “about some threat to Russia’s security.” Yet that is exactly why there is a war now. To put it simply, the Biden administration is LYING. NATO’s expansion up to Russia’s borders IS the problem. Now, Putin sees NATO on its border the same way President John F. Kennedy viewed Russian missiles being based in Cuba in October 1962. It’s aggression plain and simple.³

U.S. Army Col. Douglas Macgregor (ret.) says that Putin has “been talking at least for 15 years about his opposition to the movement of NATO to his borders. He’s made it very clear that he regarded it as a threat. One of the reasons he moved into Crimea was that he saw that becoming a NATO naval base principally for the U.S. Navy, obviously in the Black Sea. So, he moved on that first and then said, look, this has got to stop.”

“Declassified documents in the National Security Archive at George Washington University show that former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, starting in 1990, was given many assurances by U.S. and European leaders that they would not expand NATO eastward to Russia. ‘Not one inch eastward,’ said then-Secretary of State James Baker.”

“In a February 10, 1990 meeting between German Chancellor Helmut Kohl and Gorbachev, the archive reports that the ‘West German leader achieved Soviet assent in principle to German unification in NATO, as long as NATO did not expand to the east.’”

In 1990 and 1991 there were many assurances given Russia that not an inch of NATO’s present military jurisdiction will spread in an eastern direction. For instance, “after being briefed by Baker, Chancellor Kohl told Gorbachev, ‘We believe that NATO should not expand the sphere of its activity.’”

“On May 31, 1990, President George H.W. Bush said to Gorbachev, ‘[W]e have no intention, even in our thoughts, to harm the Soviet Union in any fashion. That is why we are speaking in favor of German unification in NATO…Such a model, in our view, corresponds to the Soviet interests as well.’”

“In 1991, British Prime Minister John Major assured Gorbachev, ‘We are not talking about the strengthening of NATO.’ As for NATO inclusion of East European countries, Major said, ‘Nothing of the sort will happen.’”

“After a meeting in July 1991 with NATO Secretary General Manfred Woerner, a Russian memo reads, ‘Woerner stressed that the NATO Council and he are against the expansion of NATO (13 of 16 NATO members support this point of view).’”

“The archives concluded, ‘Thus, Gorbachev went to the end of the Soviet Union assured that the West was not threatening his security and was not expanding NATO.’”

“Vladimir Putin became president in May 2000, serving until 2008. He then returned to the presidency in 2012. According to Professor Mearsheimer, author of ‘Why the Ukraine Crisis is the West’s Fault: The Liberal Delusions That Provoked Putin,’ ‘Since the mid-1990s, Russian leaders have adamantly opposed NATO enlargement and, in recent years, they have made it clear that they would not stand by while their strategically important neighbor turned into a Western bastion.’”

“‘For Putin, the illegal overthrow [in 2014] of Ukraine’s democratically elected and pro-Russian president—which he rightly labeled a ‘coup—was the final straw,’ said Mearsheimer. ‘He responded by taking Crimea, a peninsula he feared would host a NATO naval base, and working to destabilize Ukraine until it abandoned its efforts to join the West.’”

The United States has been promoting the expansion of NATO since 1994. The largest expansion of NATO occurred in 2004 as seven countries become members: Bulgaria, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia—plus Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania which were former Soviet republics. In 2008 NATO countries welcomed Ukraine and Georgia’s aspirations to join the alliance. In 2014 the United States literally orchestrated a coup and overthrew Ukraine’s government!^{4 5}

Putin then took Crimea and drew a red line in the sand regarding NATO. All the while Nazi troops in Ukraine continued to attack Russian-speaking Ukrainians that lived in the east. The US ignored Putin’s demands, basically telling him to go pound sand. Putin, figuring that NATO and the United States were aggressors, was left with only two options. Either tuck tail and let NATO and the west do whatever they please right up to and on the border with Russia—or attack and create a buffer region in Ukraine.

Putin announced a buildup of troops for an invasion and the western countries, lead by the USA, refused to negotiate a settlement—just like they refuse to negotiate to this very day. Therefore, it’s the United States that is pushing for continuing the Ukraine/Russian war until Russia is defeated and Putin is tossed out of office. Apparently in reference to U.S. aid to help Ukraine fight Russia in general, U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham said, "It's the best money we've ever spent." Countering him are sane people such as Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. who recently schooled Shawn Hannity at his Townhall meeting. But the MSM didn’t want to cover that story.^{6 7}

So the bloodbath continues as Americans pour many billions of dollars into the conflict that it doesn’t want to end. “The United States is not seriously interested in finding a diplomatic solution to the war, which means the war is likely to drag on for months, if not years,” added Mearsheimer. “The United States and its allies are helping lead Ukraine down the primrose path.”

What is our government’s objective? It seems so Orwellian. Is it for a domestic diversion? It can’t be for the benefit of Americans. It certainly doesn’t benefit Ukrainians. But it certainly involves a lot of money.^{8 9}

To your health.

Ted Slanker

Ted Slanker has been reporting on the fundamentals of nutritional research in publications, television and radio appearances, and at conferences since 1999. He condenses complex studies into the basics required for health and well-being. His eBook, The Real Diet of Man, is available online.

For additional reading:

1. Post-War Vietnam from Alpha History

2. ‘Not One Inch’: A Brief Look at the Written Record by Michael Chapman from The Libertarian Institute

3. Cuban Missile Crisis by History.com Editors

4. Timeline of NATO Expansion since 1949 by The Associated Press

5. How and Why the US Government Perpetrated the 2014 Coup in Ukraine by Eric Zuesse
from Strategic Culture

6. Dismissing Russian Criticism, U.S. Senator Graham Praises Ukrainian Resistance from Reuters

7. JFK Jr. Schools Hannity Regarding Ukraine War

8. Three Undeniable Truths From Putin’s Speech by Eddie Scarry from The Federalist

9. Setting the Record Straight; Stuff You Should Know About Ukraine by Mike Whitney from Ron Paul Institute