It's all documented in Horton's book 'Provoked.' Inarguably, the Russians did act (and are acting) to protect Ukrainian citizens, and the people of Donetsk, who were subjected to shelling and terror strikes since the Nuland revolution/coup.
And actually the provocation, indeed the rise of Putin to the presidency itself, is a largely direct consequence of deliberate US actions:
Kiev regime forces did what they can do best -
— -- GEROMAN -- time will tell - 👀 -- (@GeromanAT) January 1, 2024
Hitting and killing civilians in Donetsk City
Strike map - the last 24h. pic.twitter.com/HmbrWclDgT
And actually the provocation, indeed the rise of Putin to the presidency itself, is a largely direct consequence of deliberate US actions:
Quote:
Putin's rise was itself a consequence of the Clintonian interventions in the 1990s: from the "shock therapy" economic policy, to helping Yeltsin get reelected in 1996, to Kosovo and Chechnya. As Horton points out, ironically, Putin invoked the Kosovo precedent of intervening in a civil war to "protect" an ethnic minority to justify invading Ukraine. In one stunning example from the Kosovo war, Horton recounted how the Clinton administration ordered the bombing of a Serbian TV station. These actions still influence Putin's thoughts about the West today. Putin's strike on a TV tower in Kiev in February 2022 likely called back to that conflict.
The NATO-Russia Founding Act of May 1997 was another milestone in US duplicity toward Russia. It assured that NATO would not deploy nuclear weapons or "substantial" troops to new NATO nations' territories. Importantly, the Clinton administration misled Russia into thinking the Founding Act would give Russia a genuine role in NATO deliberationsalthough it would not have a say within the NATO alliance itselfwhen, in the words of Clinton advisor Strobe Talbott, the US's view was that "all we're really promising them is monthly meetings."
More at the link, and in the book, as they say. And the 'maidan revolution' attempts haven't stopped, as the people of Romania, and Georgia among others can attest.Quote:
The close of the Clinton years began a wave of "color revolutions" in Russia's backyard. The key thing about these "revolutions" is that they are heavily funded and supported by foreign governments or NGOs, such as George Soros' groups. Rather than directly or covertly overthrow an existing regime, these organizations operate "above board," meaning they avoid specifically endorsing candidatessince that would be illegaland instead fund and assist groups that promote more generic, non-partisan efforts like "democracy." In context, of course, their activities are geared to "benefit . . . a favored candidate or party." A favorite tactic is using "parallel vote tabulation" or exit polls, which are used to dispute official election results. The dispute typically spills over into street demonstrations with the goal of ousting the ostensible victor.
The "revolutions" began in Serbia in 2000 with the ousting of Clinton's bte noire Slobodan Miloevi. As Horton sardonically comments, this culminated in the "sacking and burning of the [Serbian] parliament building in what would surely be called a violent insurrection by American Democrats if they had not been behind it." Numerous other states would be targeted for color revolutions by the US and its Soros-backed NGO allies over the next decades.
Incredibly, this only begins to scratch the surface of these early, post-Cold War provocations toward Russia that Horton documents, let alone the follies and misdeeds that occurred during the George W. Bush presidency and thereafter. Horton has persuasively made the case that the US provoked Russia over the course of three decades, knowing that Russia would respond with hostility toward NATO expansion. Yet, with reckless abandon, US leaders and officials pushed on, achieving their wildest dreams of NATO expansion and setting their sights on what was always their crown jewelUkraine. It did not have to be this way, and it still does not. But time is ticking. Defying expectations, President Biden manages to reach new heights of absurdityin his escalatory policy toward Russia, ticking off a box on Zelensky's deadly five-point "peace" plan. The war cannot end soon enough.
