repulsewarrior wrote:...the "War" is NATO's to win or lose; if anyone's credibility is on the line, it's theirs.
If Cypriots and Ukrainians are to be compared, it is that both have survived as a People for millennia, despite what has happened around them over all this time, a crossroad.
If Turkey and Russia are to be compared under their individual circumstances, is the threat that Cyprus and the Ukraine represent in an alliance (militarily speaking) with their adversaries.
Cyprus and the Ukraine may serve a higher purpose if they represent to the interlocutors, States (representing its Citizens as Individuals, not just as Persons) which as 'honest brokers' facilitate exchange.
Actually no. NATO has come out as the winner and it holds the moral ground.
As an organisation, they have done a lot for peace and stability. NATO DOES NOT have a policy to wage war against Russia, or invade it or occupy it. Such a policy would be extremely foolish and eventually unleash a nuclear Holocaust where all of Europes and North America’s cities would be levelled to the ground.
NATO is only defensive and only serves as a deterrent in Europe by discouraging the events of the past - like in WW2 where a country can unilaterally invade and take over another. For example, Germany’s invasion of Poland which sparked the worst war in human history.
NATO even vetoed Ukraine’s membership application. Therefore, as an organisation, they have no interest at all in provoking Russia. In addition, NATO and the west, and EU have been trying to do what the can to apply pressure on Russia to avert an invasion against Ukraine.
And NATO has no interest whatsoever to deploy nuclear weapons on Ukrainian territory. That would be a clear provocative act.
When Ukraine gained independence, they inherited one of the largest nuclear arsenals on the planet. Ukraine surrendered them to Russia as a gesture of peace and coexistence with Russia and so Russia did not feel threatened. In return, Russia agreed to respect Ukraine’s sovereignty, which it now doesn’t.
Without NATO, Europe is a basket case because their are too many countries in a confined geographical area and that’s how wars start. NATO is just a deterrent. It tells any larger country with expansionist desires (like Russia) to net get too smart or do anything because of Article 5. An attack against any of its members is an attack on all.
