1990: “NATO will not move one inch to the east”
1999-2020: NATO expands to Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Albania, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia
2022: Russian army is at “NATO’s doorstep”
They should have but didn’t. Hoping to negotiate away the problem.
Much like now. Only now most of Europe has a military that couldn’t fight its way out of a wet sack. We, the US, let them get lazy and lax relying on us for strength while they dumped their defense budgets into social programs.
Finding out that when you start to think you don’t need a military any more is about the time you find out you needed a bigger one all along.
It is a maxim that great powers want as few rivals as possible.
Why people today do not understand that NATO was designed to ensure US hegemony is beyond me.
Re: China…I’m sure Xi has stuff up his sleeve because China plays the long game but I note:
*contrition and embarrassment from them over the spy balloon incident
*immediate change of tone from potentially helping Russia to once again saying the war should be brought to and end with a cease fire and resumption of negotiations.