Joe Biden ruined Ukraine

Speaking on Dana Bash’s show on CNN this Sunday, U.S. National Security Advisor Mike Waltz once again emphasized that Ukraine cannot join NATO. According to Waltz, a scenario where Ukraine becomes a NATO member, triggering U.S. obligations under Article 5 and leading to direct U.S. military involvement in Ukraine’s defense, is simply out of the question.

Waltz’s remarks are particularly notable given that they come right after the public three-way verbal sparring during Volodymyr Zelensky’s visit to the White House. While Zelensky may have been given the cold shoulder in Washington, he was welcomed as a hero in the UK. Waltz’s statements can be interpreted as a message to the UK and other European NATO members.

Waltz is making it clear that Ukraine cannot go anywhere without full U.S. support. In other words, his message to Zelensky is: Forget NATO. The Europeans you’re counting on won’t get you far. Do exactly as we say, and maybe you can salvage what’s left of Ukraine.

The real tragedy for Ukraine is that the U.S. didn’t make this clear ten years ago. By dangling NATO membership as a possibility, Washington led Kyiv down a dangerous path. Ukraine was subjected to the torment of false hope—without a happy ending. And now, the Biden administration’s vague promise to consider Ukraine’s NATO membership only after the war ends has done nothing but prolong the conflict. But perhaps that was the plan all along. After all, “Biden’s America” has been primarily focused on weakening Russia as much as possible.

One of the key figures from the final chapter of the Cold War, international economics professor Jeffrey Sachs, argues that the Biden administration’s Ukraine policy is what brought about this war. Sachs, who has held significant roles at the UN in sustainable development, has been at the heart of U.S.-Europe-Russia relations for 36 years. He advised the Polish government in 1989, Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in 1990-1991, Russian President Boris Yeltsin from 1991-1993, and later, Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma’s economic team.

In February, Sachs delivered a speech titled The Geopolitics of Peace at an event in the European Parliament, where he outlined how NATO’s post-Cold War expansion plans drove Ukraine into disaster.

At the end of 2021, Putin had put forward two draft security agreements—one with Europe and another with the U.S. The biggest sticking point? Ukraine’s NATO membership. Predicting that war was inevitable if NATO did not explicitly close its doors to Ukraine, Sachs immediately called U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan. Recounting the call, which lasted nearly an hour, Sachs said:

"Jake, avoid war. You can prevent this. All the U.S. has to do is say, ‘NATO will not expand to Ukraine.’”

Sullivan reassured him: “NATO won’t expand to Ukraine, don’t worry.”

Sachs insisted: “Then say it publicly.”

Sullivan refused: “No, no, no. We can’t say that openly.”

Sachs pressed further: “Are you seriously going to risk war over something that isn’t even going to happen?”

Sullivan’s final response? “Don’t worry, Jeff. There won’t be a war.”

Of course, Sachs’ warning was ignored. And we all know what happened next. The Biden administration refused to negotiate over NATO expansion, and the war broke out.

In Sachs’ view, NATO’s so-called "open door policy," based on Article 10 of the NATO Treaty, is one of the dumbest ideas the alliance has ever had. Russia’s concerns about NATO creeping up to its borders were simply dismissed. In his speech, Sachs drew a sharp analogy:

"To my Canadian and Mexican friends, I say this: Don’t even try. You know, Trump might want to annex Canada. And in that case, the Canadian government could turn to China and say, ‘Hey, why don’t you build a military base in Ontario?’ I wouldn’t recommend that. But the U.S. wouldn’t just say, ‘Oh, that’s Canada and China’s business, not ours.’ No, the U.S. would invade Canada."

Yet, European officials, NATO leaders, and policymakers in Brussels continued parroting the absurd mantra that NATO expansion had nothing to do with Russia.

"This isn’t even baby geopolitics," Sachs said. "It’s just not thinking at all."

And so, by refusing to engage in serious negotiations, the Biden administration paved the way for the war in February 2022.

It’s unclear what kind of impact Sachs’ speech had. But what is clear is that the gap between the U.S. and Europe is widening. While Trump has abandoned Ukraine like an unwanted child, the UK is stepping in as its guardian, faithfully following Biden’s lead.

For now, that’s where things stand.