Although the invasion of Ukraine came as a surprise, some experts were quite correct in predicting Putin’s Reaction to Ukraine’s attempt to join NATO.
By Jordan Michael Smith, New Republic
Joe Biden was confident. “This, in fact, is the beginning of another 50 years of peace,” he declared while serving as ranking member on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in 1998. The Delaware Democrat was proud of his role in helping the bipartisan congressional vote to approve the addition of Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic as full NATO members.
Not everyone was so optimistic, however. One month earlier, during a Senate debate, New York Democrat Daniel Patrick Moynihan cautioned, “We’re walking into ethnic historical enmities.” He added: “We have no idea what we’re getting into.”
Hearing Moynihan, Biden’s face reddened. He stalked the Senate floor for 10 minutes, waving his arms and shouting. “I find this absolutely astounding!” he said. “If my friends are saying, anyone who votes for expanding NATO to include Poland, the Czech Republic, and Hungary, are tying this noose around a Russian neck, this iron ring, well, then I don’t quite get it.”
Recent Posts
With Food Banks in ‘Disaster Response Mode,’ Supreme Court Lets Trump Pause SNAP Funds
Take Action Now This is insane,” said US Rep. Pramila Jayapal. “Trump is jumping through hoops to block SNAP.”By Jake Johnson, Common Dreams The…
How Many People Do You Have to Kill to Get a Peace Prize?
Take Action Now The Nobel Peace Prize is going to a Venezuelan advocate for deadly sanctions against — and an invasion of — Venezuela.By David…
New York’s Largest ICE Prison Dogged By Allegations Of Shoddy Medical Care
Take Action Now “I shouldn’t have lost my fingers,” one detainee said of ICE guards’ failure to get him the care a doctor prescribed.By J. Dale…
Zohran’s Victory Proves That Public Campaign Financing Works
Take Action Now Zohran Mamdani’s mayoral victory shows that we don’t just need better candidates and stronger messaging. We need public campaign…