The George H.W. Bush administration gave assurances to Gorbachev that if the Soviet Union permitted the reunification of Germany, the US would neither incorporate the former Warsaw Pact into NATO nor move NATO one inch to the East.
The Clinton regime reneged on the word of the US Government and moved NATO to Russia's borders.
Subsequent US regimes -- George W. Bush, Obama, Trump -- have pulled out of the remaining treaties and agreements and, thereby, elevated the tensions between the nuclear superpowers to the pre-Kennedy era.
The danger of this development is not appreciated. Nuclear warning systems of incoming ICBMs are notorious for false warnings. During the Cold War both sides received false alarms of incoming attacks, but neither the Americans nor the Soviets ever pushed the button in response to the warnings.
Why? The reason is that both sides understood that they were working to reduce tensions and to build trust. Both sides understood that, in this atmosphere, the alarms had to be false.
Today the situation is very different. Russia and its leadership have been demonized and excoriated by Western politicians and media. Americans and their vassals in Europe have been taught to hate and fear Russians. The Russian government has experienced false accusations never before experienced in diplomatic affairs. Neither side can possibly trust the other. Add to this the fact that response times are now in the minutes, and you should be able to comprehend that the world can be blown up due to nothing more than a false alarm.
For the ideological neoconservatives and the greed-ridden corrupt American military/security complex to put life on Earth under this kind of risk indicates that neither neoconservatives nor armaments industries are capable of subordinating their self-interests to life itself.
Normally, the restrained, non-confrontational responses of Vladimir Putin and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to American insults and provocative actions would be admirable. But with the US playing the role of the bully, passive Russian responses to bullying encourage more bullying. As kids of my generation learned, when confronted with a bully you immediately stand up to him. Otherwise, he sees you as lacking self-respect and resolve and ups the bullying. The only way to avoid the fight is to stand up to him immediately.
The Russian government's failure to stand up to Washington's bullying guarantees more bullying. Sooner or later the bullying will cross a line, and Russia will have to fight.
A less passive Russian government could do a lot for peace.
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