The late Stephen Cohen on NATO expanding to the East

I used to tune in to listen to the late, great Prof. Stephen F Cohen every week.

He is sorely missed

NATO Betray Russia by Expanding to the East

There's an Archive Called the National Security Archive in Washington. It Has Now Produced All the Documents of the Discussion of 1990. And it Was Not Only Bush, it Was the French Leader Mitterrand, it Was Margaret Thatcher of England. Every Western Leader Promised Gorbachev NATO Would Not Move. This was secretary of state Jim Baker's formulation, one inch, or maybe he said, two inches, one inch to the east. In other words, NATO would not move from Germany eastward toward Russia.

But we need leadership because the relationship with Russia remains existential.

I want to talk, and it's in the tank and it's dangerous.

As you point out in the book, it's existential. It's a matter of life or death. So as you have pointed out many times, there was a commitment made to Gorbachev that as long as Germany was allowed after the fall of the Berlin wall in 1989 to unify, NATO would not be expanding.

No, no, it was not. Only here was the discussion in 1990, right. The wall had come down. Germany was reunifying. The question became, where would a united Germany be? The west wanted Germany and NATO. For Gorbachev, this was an impossible sell. Back home in the Soviet Union, 27.5 million soviet citizens had died in the war against Germany. Second World War on the eastern front. I mean, contrary to the bunk, the United States didn't land on Normandy, save Private Ryan, according to these guys, and then defeat Nazi Germany.

The defeat of Nazi Germany was primarily done by the Soviet army, but it cost 27.5 million soviet citizens.

So how could Gorbachev go home in 1990 and say, guys, Germany's reunited. Great, great, great. And it's going to be in NATO? It was impossible. They told Gorbachev, we promise that if you agree to a reunited Germany and NATO, NATO would not move.

This was secretary of state Jim Baker's formulation, one inch, or maybe he said, two inches, one inch to the east. In other words, NATO would not move from Germany eastward toward Russia. And it did.

To, as we speak today, NATO's all along Russia's borders, from the Baltics to Ukraine to the former soviet republic of Georgia.

So what happened later?

They said Gorbachev lied or he misunderstood. That promise was never made.

But there's an archive called the National Security Archive in Washington. It has now produced all the documents of the discussion of 1990.

And it was not only Bush, it was the french leader Mitterrand, it was Margaret Thatcher of England.

Every western leader promised Gorbachev NATO would not move.

So what do you end up with today?

What Russians call *predatelstvo*, betrayal. And any discussion about American -Russian relations today, an informed Russian is going to say, “we worry you'll betray us again”.

Well, you quote Putin in here talking about how we had illusions. You know, he had illusions. He had illusions. And how often have you ever heard a national leader say publicly, I had illusions about working with them or about anything?

Leaders don't have illusions. They're immaculate. Right? But Putin said he had illusions about the west when he came to power.