Many of us felt great relief and renewed hope when the Soviet Union
fragmented and Russians met with Americans to reduce the insane stockpiles of
nuclear weapons. At this writing, the relief and the hope has been cancelled. In
my book, Surviving Human Nature, I wrote a brief summary of Russian alienation
from the USA and European countries. My thesis is always that human nature
involves inevitable belligerence and sustainable progress toward peaceful
co-existence has never been achieved:
NATO and Russia
European countries have a long history of shifting alliances and wars. Most battles were fought because of territorial ambitions or disputes, conflicting religious beliefs, ethnic animosities and the petty quarrels among aristocrats. As Europe emerged damaged and confused after the second world war, it seemed like a good idea to maintain and expand the alliances that defeated Germany. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was created from an alliance of 26 countries from North America and Europe in 1949. The stated role of NATO was to safeguard the freedom and security of its member countries by political and military means.
Regrettably, Russia was not included in NATO, but instead remained a principal adversary. The blind paranoia that developed in the US and the willingness of all parties to engage in nuclear insanity was the greatest accomplishment in human perversity. NATO was not off to a good start with mutually assured destruction. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Russia resigned as enemy number 1 and a rather weak alliance was formed between Russian and NATO, first with a reciprocal commitment “to work together to build a stable, secure and undivided continent on the basis of partnership and common interest” in 1997.
A NATO-Russia Council was established in 2002 with the idea that representatives from the 26 NATO countries and Russia would meet regularly “to pursue opportunities for joint action as 27 equal partners.The expansion of NATO into East Central Europe was alarming for Russia. Their concerns were increased when the US made deals with Poland and the Ukraine to build their radar and missile sites in the countries, formerly controlled by Russia. One can only guess what the Putin Russians really thought about the US, but the conspicuous aggression and delusions of grandeur displayed by the Bush administration could hardly be reassuring.
Among the discussions of the NATO-Russia Council in 2003, arms control and confidence-building measures were a priority. The assurance of NATO member states was that “decisions taken by the Alliance at its summit meeting in Prague are not directed against the security interests of Russia or any other Partner state.
Russia invaded its neighbor, Georgia, a recent NATO member and Russian/NATO collaboration began to disintegrate. Anti-government protests in the Ukraine in 2014 have led to Russia asserting its historical alliances with military might. Russia exploited unrest in the Ukraine and annexed Crimea. NATO woke up to the consequences of keeping Russia isolated and resumed referring to a new "Cold War". No NATO coalition could or should enter into battle with the Russians. For those of us who grew up with the cold war, a recurrence of US-Russian, aka NATO-Russian hostilities has been a dreaded possibility. But the law of Karma suggests if it happened before, it will happen again. It is hard to shake the conclusion that the reptilian brain remains in control of human affairs. People elected to office and diplomats are no exception. NATO is obsolete, but since perseveration is the major operating principle of human groups, some version of NATO will likely persist in a dysfunction manner, helping to create more conflicts than it can resolve.
From Surviving Human Nature by Stephen Gislason
NATO and Russia
European countries have a long history of shifting alliances and wars. Most battles were fought because of territorial ambitions or disputes, conflicting religious beliefs, ethnic animosities and the petty quarrels among aristocrats. As Europe emerged damaged and confused after the second world war, it seemed like a good idea to maintain and expand the alliances that defeated Germany. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was created from an alliance of 26 countries from North America and Europe in 1949. The stated role of NATO was to safeguard the freedom and security of its member countries by political and military means.
Regrettably, Russia was not included in NATO, but instead remained a principal adversary. The blind paranoia that developed in the US and the willingness of all parties to engage in nuclear insanity was the greatest accomplishment in human perversity. NATO was not off to a good start with mutually assured destruction. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Russia resigned as enemy number 1 and a rather weak alliance was formed between Russian and NATO, first with a reciprocal commitment “to work together to build a stable, secure and undivided continent on the basis of partnership and common interest” in 1997.
A NATO-Russia Council was established in 2002 with the idea that representatives from the 26 NATO countries and Russia would meet regularly “to pursue opportunities for joint action as 27 equal partners.The expansion of NATO into East Central Europe was alarming for Russia. Their concerns were increased when the US made deals with Poland and the Ukraine to build their radar and missile sites in the countries, formerly controlled by Russia. One can only guess what the Putin Russians really thought about the US, but the conspicuous aggression and delusions of grandeur displayed by the Bush administration could hardly be reassuring.
Among the discussions of the NATO-Russia Council in 2003, arms control and confidence-building measures were a priority. The assurance of NATO member states was that “decisions taken by the Alliance at its summit meeting in Prague are not directed against the security interests of Russia or any other Partner state.
Russia invaded its neighbor, Georgia, a recent NATO member and Russian/NATO collaboration began to disintegrate. Anti-government protests in the Ukraine in 2014 have led to Russia asserting its historical alliances with military might. Russia exploited unrest in the Ukraine and annexed Crimea. NATO woke up to the consequences of keeping Russia isolated and resumed referring to a new "Cold War". No NATO coalition could or should enter into battle with the Russians. For those of us who grew up with the cold war, a recurrence of US-Russian, aka NATO-Russian hostilities has been a dreaded possibility. But the law of Karma suggests if it happened before, it will happen again. It is hard to shake the conclusion that the reptilian brain remains in control of human affairs. People elected to office and diplomats are no exception. NATO is obsolete, but since perseveration is the major operating principle of human groups, some version of NATO will likely persist in a dysfunction manner, helping to create more conflicts than it can resolve.
From Surviving Human Nature by Stephen Gislason