The political scientist John Mearsheimer, who is one of the most famous critics of American foreign policy since the end of the Cold War, discusses why he believes the U.S. is to blame for the invasion of Ukraine.
’s aggressive position toward Ukraine. Indeed, in 2014, after Russia annexed Crimea, Mearsheimer wrote that “the United States and its European allies share most of the responsibility for this crisis.”has renewed several long-standing debates about the relationship between the U.S. and Russia. Although many critics of Putin have argued that he would pursue an aggressive foreign policy in former Soviet Republics regardless of Western involvement, Mearsheimer maintains his position that the U.S.
We do have that say, and, in fact, we overthrew democratically elected leaders in the Western hemisphere during the Cold War because we were unhappy with their policies. This is the way great powers behave. No—well, not in Saudi Arabia and not in Egypt. To start with, the Bush Doctrine basically said that if we could create a liberal democracy in Iraq, it would have a domino effect, and countries such as Syria, Iran, and eventually Saudi Arabia and Egypt would turn into democracies. That was the basic philosophy behind the Bush Doctrine. The Bush Doctrine was not just designed to turn Iraq into a democracy. We had a much grander scheme in mind.
There’s a big difference between how the United States behaved during the unipolar moment and how it’s behaved in the course of its history. I agree with you when you talk about American foreign policy in the course of its broader history, but the unipolar moment was a very special time. I believe that during the unipolar moment, we were deeply committed to spreading democracy.expansion and E.U. expansion as a policy that was aimed at containing Russia.
Yes, exactly. But it’s important to understand that it is fundamentally different from conquering and holding onto Kyiv. Do you understand what I’m saying? I think that’s wrong, because I think you’re quoting the first half of the sentence, as most people in the West do. He said, “Whoever does not miss the Soviet Union has no heart.” And then he said, “Whoever wants it back has no brain.”O.K., but put those two things together and tell me what that means. I’m just not too sure. He does believe it’s a made-up nation. I would note to him, all nations are made up. Any student of nationalism can tell you that.
But he also said, as I read to you before, “Whoever does not miss the Soviet Union has no heart.” That’s somewhat at odds with what you just said. I mean, he’s in effect saying that he misses the Soviet Union, right? That’s what he’s saying. What we’re talking about here is his foreign policy. The question you have to ask yourself is whether or not you think that this is a country that has the capability to do that. You realize that this is a country that has a G.N.P. that’s smaller than Texas.
South Africa Latest News, South Africa Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
John Cena slammed for using Ukraine war to promote ‘Peacemaker’ series“If I could somehow summon the powers of a real life Peacemaker I think this would be a great time to do so,” he shamelessly tweeted about the titular DC superhero.
Read more »
John Oliver: George W. Bush Should ‘Shut the F*ck Up’ About UkraineThe ‘Last Week Tonight’ host took aim at CNN, George W. Bush, and Vladimir Putin over the despot’s “completely indefensible” invasion of Ukraine.
Read more »
Perspective | Why John Oliver’s anti-catharsis comedy is political late night’s reigning templateJohn Oliver remains the king of liberal late night with 'Last Week Tonight,' but he'll have to work harder to keep his crown.
Read more »
John Oliver Blasts CNN, Applebee’s for Ad Gaffe During Ukraine Air-Raid Coverage, Calls Putin a “B****”The 'Last Week Tonight' host also chastised former President George W. Bush for his statement on the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Read more »
Fact check: Sen. John Cornyn says U.S. topped 100,000 overdose deaths in a yearCornyn, a Republican, linked this statistic to President Joe Biden’s border policy.
Read more »