hipeter924
Not a zombie yet
No I didn't, Yeltsin is part of a long list of leaders that the US helped to put in power, and propped up with loans if they play ball.No it isn't, then I don't expect you are the type to read anything by Naomi Klein (or anyone really that isn't in the pocket of 'free market' propagandists): Why the West loved Yeltsin and hates Putin - OPINION - The HinduThe US put the corrupt and authoritarian Yeltsin in power, so naturally it didn't like it when Putin created independent foreign policy and began to rebuild Russia.Russia is no threat to the US. It is a threat to it's nearby neighbors.
If the Europeans feel threatened they should spend more than 1% of their gnp on their military.
NATO expansion was a mistake.
We should pull out of NATO.
NATO isn't about protecting Georgia!
Russia is not a threat to its neighbors any more than it was during the Russian Empire. There is a lot of rhetoric, and some in Russia would like the reclaim the glory days of the Russian Empire, but no more than in the US - where people dream of annexing Canada aka war of 1812.
There is a way out, as France and Great Britain found before WW1, which is supporting Russia, rather than threatening it. But disbanding NATO, forming a military relationship with Russia and trading arms, weapons and knowledge is heresy according to the neo cons, who believe the US needs to 'fight Russia' to maintain peace.
We did not put Yeltsin in power. THat is crazy talk.
Russia is totally a threat to it's neighbors. They have many conflicting interests and populations that do NOT follow national borders.
No one in the US is dreaming of annexing Canada.
THe neo cons are not the only ones who are stuck in Cold War thinking.
One reason why Yeltsin was the West’s darling — while Mr. Putin is the target of virulent attacks — was that his policies perfectly suited the Western agenda for Russia, a superpower-turned economic and military weakling, a subservient client state and a source of cheap energy and minerals. By contrast, Russia’s resurgence under Mr. Putin is seen as upsetting the global balance of power and threatening the U.S. unipolar model.
We tried a puppet regime that would do the IMFs/World Bank's/Western Governments bidding, encouraging Yeltsin to privatize everything and screw over his people, which he joyfully did, till Putin came to power and Russia's government stopped playing the game by western rules.
You kind of moved the bar there, from "putting him in power" to just liking him.
Did you realize that your previous statement was ridiculous?
Sure, the West loved a leader that helped destroy the Soviet Union.
I can't speak for all Western Leaders. Russia was never going to be a client state. It is to large for that.
I personally wished and still do wish Russia well.
They do not have the power, or the attractive ideology to be a threat to US. So, whatever.
Russia is not the threat to the US dominance. INternal forces and China are.