Policymakers abroad: on War & Peace
Condoleezza Rice:
2008 ambassador: Ukraine in NATO is serious threat to Russia
The more widespread and familiar view in the West, particularly in the United States, is that Russia is and has always been an expansionist state. The opposing view argues that Russia's security concerns are in fact genuine, and that NATO expansion
eastward is seen by Russians as directed against their country. Putin has been clear for many years that if continued, the expansion would likely be met with serious resistance by the Russians, even with military action.Among others,
Biden's CIA director, William J. Burns, has been warning about the provocative effect of NATO expansion. In 2008, Burns, then the American ambassador to Moscow, wrote to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice: "Ukrainian entry into NATO is the brightest
of all redlines for the Russian elite (not just Putin). In more than two and a half years of conversations with key Russian players, I have yet to find anyone who views Ukraine in NATO as anything other than a direct challenge to Russian interests."
Source: TheConversation.com on Foreign Influences: "NATO expansion"
Jan 28, 2022
Donald Trump:
OpEd: Israel killed Iranian scientist & Trump approved
[Opinion]: Israel assassinated Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, Iran's top nuclear scientist. The Israeli government has not claimed credit for the illegal killing. Trump implicitly praised the assassination, retweeting a comment by Israeli journalist & intelligence
expert Yossi Melman that the killing was a "major psychological and professional blow" to Iran. This was an "implicit approval if there ever was one," according to Sina Toossi, a senior research analyst at the National Iranian American Council.
Source: Truthout.org OpEd on Trump Administration Foreign Influences
Dec 1, 2020
George W. Bush:
2008: Support for Ukraine in NATO is a threat to Russia
Ukraine isn't joining NATO anytime soon, and President Joe Biden has said as much. Still, NATO's open-door policy--the alliance's foundational principle that any qualified European country could join--cuts both ways. To the West, it's a statement of
autonomy; to Russia, it's a threat. The core of the NATO treaty is Article 5, a commitment that an attack on any country is treated as an attack on the entire alliance--meaning any Russian military engagement with a Ukraine as NATO member would
theoretically bring Moscow into conflict with the US and the 27 other NATO members.The prospect of Ukraine and Georgia joining NATO has antagonized Putin at least since President George W. Bush expressed support for the idea in 2008. "That was a real
mistake," said the ambassador to Ukraine under President Bill Clinton. "It drove the Russians nuts. It created expectations in Ukraine and Georgia, which then were never met. And so that just made that whole issue of enlargement a complicated one."
Source: Vox.com on Foreign Influences: "NATO expansion"
Jan 27, 2022
Vladimir Putin:
Ukrainian entry into NATO is the brightest of all redlines
The more widespread and familiar view in the West, particularly in the United States, is that Russia is and has always been an expansionist state. The opposing view argues that Russia's security concerns are in fact genuine, and that NATO expansion
eastward is seen by Russians as directed against their country. Putin has been clear for many years that if continued, the expansion would likely be met with serious resistance by the Russians, even with military action.Among others,
Biden's CIA director, William J. Burns, has been warning about the provocative effect of NATO expansion. In 2008, Burns, then the American ambassador to Moscow, wrote to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice: "Ukrainian entry into NATO is the brightest
of all redlines for the Russian elite (not just Putin). In more than two and a half years of conversations with key Russian players, I have yet to find anyone who views Ukraine in NATO as anything other than a direct challenge to Russian interests."
Source: TheConversation.com on Foreign Influences: "NATO expansion"
Jan 28, 2022
Liz Truss:
Ukraine should drive Putin's forces out of the country
In 2021, aged 46, she moved to one of the most senior jobs in government, taking over from Dominic Raab as foreign secretary.
When Russia invaded Ukraine she took a hard line, insisting all of Vladimir Putin's forces should be driven from the country. But she faced criticism for backing people from the UK who wanted to fight in Ukraine.
Source: BBC "Tory PM" on Foreign Influences
Sep 6, 2022
Liz Truss:
We need to send more weapons to Ukraine
POLICY: Continue to support Ukraine through weapons and sanctions on RussiaDATE & PLATFORM: July 15, leadership debate
SHE SAID WHAT?
We need to send more weapons to Ukraine, we need to send more heavy weapons, we need to encourage our allies to do more, we also need to put more sanctions."
Source: Politico blog "Truss manifesto" on Foreign Influences
Sep 1, 2022
Page last updated: Sep 29, 2024