#294 - Benjamin Abelow on HOW THE WEST BROUGHT WAR TO UKRAINE

European history and nuclear arms policy expert Benjamin Abelow chats with Trey Elling about HOW THE WEST BROUGHT WAR TO UKRAINE: UNDERSTANDING HOW U.S. AND NATO POLICIES LED TO CRISIS, WAR, AND THE RISK OF NUCLEAR CATASTROPHE. Topics include: NATO's expansion east over the past 30 years (0:35) Why NATO would've promised not to expand east in the early 1990s (2:46) NATO adding Poland is a member in the late '90s (6:09) George W. Bush withdrawing the US from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty in late 2001 (8:48) NATO's failed attempt to add Georgia and Ukraine in 2008 (11:00) The US's role in Ukraine's 2014 coup (17:16) Russia's response to the coup (26:26) US actions in Romania in 2016 (29:50) Trump surprisingly continuing aggressive policies toward Russia (33:53) NATO & US diplomacy with Ukraine intensifying in 2021 (38:20) The immediate future of the current conflict (47:15) The likely culprit(s) of the Nord Stream Pipeline attacks (53:25) Ben's concern about a nuclear weapon being used (1:02:40)