Bush’s Dangerous Plan to Expand NATO

Despite Russian opposition and French and German objections, President Bush was adamant Tuesday about the right of this eastern European nation to join the western-dominated North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

Bush held a series of meetings with Ukrainian leaders here before flying to Bucharest, Romania, for the NATO summit, which starts Wednesday. His visit here, he said, “should be a clear signal to everybody that I mean what I say.” Ukraine President Viktor Yushchenko thanked him for his “full-fledged support.”With Bush’s support, two former Soviet republics — Ukraine and Georgia — will make their cases for preliminary “membership action plans” to NATO’s 26 members at the NATO summit. The plans are a precursor to full membership, which can take several years of additional political, economic and military reforms to achieve.

The location of the summit is in itself a statement about NATO’s eastward march. Romania was among seven nations granted membership in 2004, the last time the alliance expanded. Albania and Croatia are expected to be granted membership this week; Macedonia’s request is being blocked by Greece, which objects to Macedonia’s use of a name shared by a Greek province.

Ukraine and Georgia, however, would represent NATO’s furthest incursion east into lands once claimed by the Soviet empire. As such, their efforts have incurred the wrath of Russia and the objections of some NATO members, including Germany and France, who say further reforms are needed before action plans can be approved.

Bush’s “full-fledged support” is more than Yushchenko can claim from his own citizens, only about 30% of whom support joining NATO. Bush’s visit has been marked by street protests, which Yushchenko called “natural” despite the widespread famine and suffering that occurred under Soviet rule. He noted Ukraine has declared its independence six times in the last 80 years, with five failures. “Very often, Ukraine looked like a diversified country, a parted country,” he said… [emphasis added]

Inserted from <USA Today>

I’ve left this subject alone so far, because I wanted to study the issue before stating a position.

Imagine if you will, a proposed military alliance between Russia, Mexico and Canada. Is there any doubt that Americans would feel thoroughly threatened by such an arrangement? Do you remember how threatened the US used to feel about the alliance between the USSR and Cuba? World War III almost happened over that. The US would consider such an alliance threat and extreme provocation. In this light, is it difficult to understand how Russia feels the same way? Tweaking the nose of a power that still has a considerable nuclear arsenal is dangerous brinkmanship to say the least.

Neither the Ukraine nor Georgia are stable countries. The NATO treaty includes an obligation to attack any nation that attacks any member nation. Many of the new nations under consideration for NATO membership are involved in centuries old disputes in their region. The last thing the US needs at this point is more treaty obligations that could force is into another war.

France and Germany are right. Bush’s attempt to further his neocon pipe dream of military world domination should be opposed.

Cross-posted from Politics Plus