Even if Ukraine and Belarus were NATO members --

[pecksniff]

-- how would that put Russia in danger, Mr. Putin? Has NATO ever taken any action unprovoked?

 

[Sean]

-- how would that put Russia in danger, Mr. Putin? Has NATO ever taken any action unprovoked?

Hmm. NATO members certainly have.

 

[oggbashan]

Hmm. NATO members certainly have.

Only Turkey and Greece in Cyprus, and Turkey in Syria. But neither triggered article 5 which is defensive only.

And of course supporting the US in Iraq 1 and 2 and Afghanistan.

 

[pecksniff]

Only Turkey and Greece in Cyprus, and Turkey in Syria. But neither triggered article 5 which is defensive only.

And of course supporting the US in Iraq 1 and 2 and Afghanistan.

Well, those weren't NATO operations.

Was intervention in Yugoslavia a NATO op?

 

[Paul_Chance]

Well, those weren't NATO operations.

Was intervention in Yugoslavia a NATO op?

Yes. The intervention in Yugoslavia during the Kosovo War was an authorized NATO operation. The justification was that the ongoing ethnic cleansing was a "destabilizing" force that threatened the other NATO nations in the region. Initially, they sought UN approval to make it a UN action, but when that was vetoed by China and Russia, NATO took up the banner. US President Bill Clinton's Secretary of Defense, William Cohen, said, "The appalling accounts of mass killing in Kosovo and the pictures of refugees fleeing Serb oppression for their lives makes it clear that this is a fight for justice over genocide." - Wikipedia

A few key words and here we are again, facing the same moral dilemma, but directly with Russia as the aggressor.

"The appalling accounts of mass killing in Ukraine and the pictures of refugees fleeing Russian oppression for their lives makes it clear that is a fight for justice over genocide."

 

[Rightguide]

Yes. The intervention in Yugoslavia during the Kosovo War was an authorized NATO operation. The justification was that the ongoing ethnic cleansing was a "destabilizing" force that threatened the other NATO nations in the region. Initially, they sought UN approval to make it a UN action, but when that was vetoed by China and Russia, NATO took up the banner. US President Bill Clinton's Secretary of Defense, William Cohen, said, "The appalling accounts of mass killing in Kosovo and the pictures of refugees fleeing Serb oppression for their lives makes it clear that this is a fight for justice over genocide." - Wikipedia

A few key words and here we are again, facing the same moral dilemma, but directly with Russia as the aggressor.

"The appalling accounts of mass killing in Ukraine and the pictures of refugees fleeing Russian oppression for their lives makes it clear that is a fight for justice over genocide."

Nicely played.