Scott Ritter[1] talking to Richard Medhurst[2]

(Speaking of Gorbachev) “… you have to agree not only not to bring NATO troops into the eastern portion of uh of Germany but you can't bring NATO troops east of the Elbe, you can't go into Poland, you can't do do this. And uh and he was given assurances and everybody said well it's just verbal, we now find out it's in writing um that this wouldn't happen. So you know right off the bat we have an expansive NATO, now NATO says that's okay you don't be worried about an expansive NATO because we're a defensive alliance. Really? Then why did they bomb Belgrade in 1999, there was nothing defensive about that, that was offensive military action against a Slavic state. Why did they, why did NATO send a training mission to Iraq in 2004? Why did NATO members participate in the illegal invasion of Iraq in 2003? Um you know they say well it's just a training mission. No, it's a training mission in an occupied state that was occupied uh you know from an illegal war of aggression so you're facilitating, you're legitimizing, an illegal war of aggression. That's what NATO did. Why did NATO go into Afghanistan what business is Afghanistan of NATO's? None. Zero. Um you know and what did NATO do to Libya? Offensive aggressive military operations but it's not just these examples it's a transatlantic organization. Why then did they start a partnership in North Africa where they were seeking to expand their sphere of influence (there's a word we're not allowed to use) in North Africa? Why did they set up offices in um in the United Arab Emirates to create a sphere of influence in the Persian Gulf? Why are they talking about a North Atlantic Treaty Organization operating in the Pacific to create a sphere of influence to counter china? They're not a defensive organization it's an offensive minded expansive organization with a proven history of carrying out regime change operations in countries they view as a threat. Who's the number one threat today per NATO's own words? Russia. So you know NATO not only has no reason to exist NATO is a suicide pill for Europe.”

A couple of comments about this.

We, in the West (I live in Western Europe), can pretend that NATO is a force for good in the world, that it is some sort of benign defensive pact but our adversaries do not see it that way. And our adversaries are correct. They do not have the luxury of pretending that NATO is something that it is not. If they were to then that would spell the end of them. The reason people in the West don't see NATO for what it is is because they see themselves as the good guys and their adversaries as the bad guys. It's that simple. Even though people throughout the West are critical of their governments domestically when it comes to matters of foreign policy even though people say they care about peace and that they care for the people of Ukraine, they don't in actual fact care about peace and they don't care about the people of Ukraine. If they did then they would have asked their governments why NATO wasn't disbanded in the wake of the fall of the Soviet Empire and with it the Warsaw Pact. NATO was created to counter the Warsaw Pact countries. When that alliance disbanded and German was reunified NATO should have been consigned to the dustbin of history as they say. But it was not. With the Soviets out of the way NATO emboldened by its success began to expand its remit, expand its sphere of influence. That's fine, but at least admit that the nature of the organisation has changed. That's fine, but don't be surprised when your sphere of influence overlaps with a nation that has its own sphere of influence is its own independent agenda. It's at times like these the the narrative that most in the Western media pump out day after day is revealed to be at odds with reality. The West, when it comes to foreign interventions, is morally compromised – it has no business telling others what they cannot do when it does those very same things year in year out and has done for decades. The hypocrisy at times like these is, frankly, nauseating.

I recommend watching that entire interview. Ritter does not varnish reality, and that's a good thing. People in the West need to wake to what is being done in their name and own the consequences of their actions. See also Max Blumenthal's analysis on the Jimmy Dore Show[3] and Russell Brand's take[4].

[1] William Scott Ritter Jr. (born July 15, 1961) is a former United Nations weapons inspector in Iraq from 1991 to 1998. He later became a critic of United States foreign policy in the Middle East. Prior to the invasion of Iraq in March 2003, Ritter stated that Iraq possessed no significant weapons of mass destruction (WMD) capabilities, becoming according to The New York Times "the loudest and most credible skeptic of the Bush administration’s contention that Hussein was hiding weapons of mass destruction."

[2] "NATO Too Weak to Face Russia: Scott Ritter on Russian Offensive" https://youtu.be/3GkmdCaBECs?t=1988

[3] #TheJimmyDoreShow "Truth About Ukraine/Russia NOT What You Think" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sm8QfxZ3HHw

[4] #Ukraine #Russia #War "This Changes Everything" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=595Esg6Mz0U