Comment by user3939382

12 days ago

Right if you’re not a mouthpiece for the US State Depts horrific foreign policy you’re a Russian propagandist. My family fought in every war going back to the Revolution and I think our policy on Russia is complete shit. AFAIC we started the whole conflict.

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user3939382

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wredcoll  12 days ago

> AFAIC we started the whole conflict.

Is this talking point still being paid for? I haven't seen it in a while, but I guess I don't keep track that closely.

What are the other russian provided talking points these days?

  • rsync  12 days ago

    I would direct you to George Kennan[1] and his 1997 NYT article where he said, among other things:

    "... expanding NATO would be the most fateful error of American policy in the entire post-Cold War era. Such a decision may be expected to inflame the nationalistic, anti-Western and militaristic tendencies in Russian opinion; to have an adverse effect on the development of Russian democracy; to restore the atmosphere of the cold war to East-West relations, and to impel Russian foreign policy in directions decidedly not to our liking ..."

    Is it your position that he was paid for, or in some way disingenuously held, this view ?

    I don't have strong opinions on this topic but I note with interest that there seem to be contrary viewpoints that aren't not puppets/trolls.

    [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_F._Kennan

    • tootie  11 days ago

      It doesn't matter if he was paid and I have no indication Greenwald ever was either. Only that this line of thinking aligns with Russian propaganda and is also complete nonsense.

      Saying we should constrain the sovereignty of Eastern European nations to not hurt the feelings of their most dangerous rival is just bullshit. Russia's goals are simply neoimperialist and they obviously had no intention of waiting for Ukraine to join NATO or the EU before invading. They certainly had no similar provocation to snatch territory from Moldova and Georgia.

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    • antonvs  11 days ago

      Kennan was arguing a Russian position, which makes sense given his long focus on Russia, and time there. What he wrote doesn’t actually support the idea that the West “started” anything.

      Strengthening a defensive alliance is not “starting” something, that’s just the usual narcissistic gaslighting used by people with nefarious intent.

    • wredcoll  12 days ago

      Did I miss the news of ukraine joining nato or something?

      More to the point, this is some hardcore "she was asking for it" victim blaming.

      You know who started the war? THE COUNTRY THAT LAUNCHED THE INVASION.

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