Military Review English Edition May-June 2016 | Page 31

NEW SECURITY ARCHITECTURE

Georgia and Ukraine would become part of NATO. The
Russians, in response, made it perfectly clear at the time
that this was unacceptable. And they made it clear they
would go to great lengths to prevent that from happening. Nevertheless, NATO did not back off. Furthermore,
in May of that same year, the European Union (EU)
announced that there was going to be an Eastern
Partnership, which in effect meant that the EU too

the West, with the Americans in the driver’s seat, continued to push a policy that called for peeling Ukraine away
from Russia’s orbit and making it part of the West. EU
expansion was one of the key strategies underpinning
that policy. NATO expansion and democracy promotion
were the other two underlying strategies. Democracy
promotion in principal is an attractive idea to virtually
all of us in the West. But, the fact is that democracy
promotion in the
hands of the United
States is mainly
about toppling
leaders who are
seen as anti-American or anti-West,
and putting in their
place leaders who
are pro-American or pro-West.
Of course the
Orange Revolution
was all about
doing just that.
Toppling [Viktor]
Yanukovych was
all about putting a
leader in power in
Kiev who would be
pro-West.
So, this tri(Photo by Cornelia Smet, EC - Audiovisual Service, European Union, 2011)
ple-prong stratEuropean Commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso and European Union (EU) Council President Herman Van
egy—NATO
Rompuy meet with Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych 19 December 2011 in Kiev, Ukraine. The EU and
expansion, EU
Ukraine agreed to the terms of a free trade and political association treaty, creating tension between the
West and Russia.
expansion, and
would be moving eastward toward Ukraine. Not surpris- democracy promotion—bothered the Russians greatly.
ingly, in August 2008, you had a war between Georgia
And, it all came to a head with the coup in Kiev on 22
and Russia, which was in good part a result of the April
February 2014. We then had a major crisis that we still
2008 decision to eventually include Ukraine and Georgia face and which shows no signs of going away. What is
in NATO. The Georgians thought that NATO would
the solution to this problem? I think the only possiback them if they got into a crisis or a conflict with the
ble solution is to go back to the situation that existed
Russians. They of course were wrong; nevertheless, that
before 2008. Otherwise, there is no hope of settling this
was the first big piece of evidence that trouble was in
matter. What in particular has to be done? Ukraine has
store in Eastern Europe.
to be turned into a neutral buffer state. The West has to
Barack Obama, as you know, was elected in
recognize that there is no way it can continue to pursue
November 2008. He came into office with the goal in
a set of policies that are designed to make Ukraine a
mind of resetting relations between Russia and the
Western bulwark on Russia’s border. The Russians will
United States. He failed. And, the reason he failed is that not tolerate this and will instead go to great lengths to
MILITARY REVIEW  May-June 2016

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