Summary
Scott Horton emphasizes the importance of anti-imperialism and non-interventionism in U.S. foreign policy, particularly in light of the failures and consequences of NATO expansion and military interventions in Ukraine.
US Foreign Policy and NATO Expansion
NATO expansion into Eastern Europe, breaking promises made to the Soviets in 1990, led to increased tensions with Russia and set the stage for future conflicts.
The neoconservative-led NATO expansion, opposed by libertarians like Ron Paul and Pat Buchanan, ultimately provoked Russia as predicted by experts.
US involvement in “color revolutions” in Georgia (2003), Ukraine (2004), and other former Soviet states further strained relations with Russia, despite warnings from intelligence experts.
Economic and Political Consequences
US-led neoliberal reforms in post-Soviet Russia resulted in cronyism, gangster rule, and an estimated 4-6 million excess deaths over a decade, fostering resentment against the US.
Bush’s anti-ballistic missile sites in Eastern Europe heightened Russian fears of US first-strike capability, leading to Putin’s development of new offensive missiles with up to 24 warheads per rocket.
Ukraine Conflict
The 2014 Ukraine coup, supported by the Obama administration, led to the loss of Crimea and war in eastern Ukraine, with US backing of controversial militias escalating the conflict.
According to later New York Times reporting, the CIA launched the Ukraine war in 2014, establishing 14 secret bases along the Ukrainian-Russian border.
Diplomatic Failures and Consequences
The Minsk agreements (2014-2015), brokered by Germany and France to end the Ukraine war, failed due to lack of US pressure on Ukraine to implement them, resulting in 4,000 additional deaths.
The Biden administration’s refusal to negotiate key issues like NATO expansion and the Donbass war, while maintaining an “open door” policy for Ukraine, ignored Russian security concerns.
Libertarian Perspective
Libertarian institutions like the Mises Institute and Cato Institute faced pressure over their stance on the Ukraine war, with Cato firing Ted Galen Carpenter for opposing intervention.
Murray Rothbard’s 1978 argument that a “world empire” requires “domestic imperialism” to raise revenue and armies, making limited government impossible, remains relevant to current foreign policy debates.