Joe Biden is rushing to do as much damage as possible before leaving office.
He is bent on bailing out his son and funneling billions of taxpayer dollars to Ukraine. Rather than de-escalate tensions or seek a solution to the conflict, Biden appears intent on bringing the world closer to the precipice of World War III. this is I'm not exaggerating.
“Mr. Trump must be brutally honest with the American people and the Ukrainian people, just as he courageously did in Afghanistan.”
Scott Horton, author ofprovoked” delivers an unflinching, well-researched critique of U.S. foreign policy, revealing how the U.S. government reignited Cold War tensions with Russia and set the stage for the current Ukraine crisis. are.
Mr. Houghton recently spoke about how successive administrations pursued policies designed to antagonize Russia, ignore security concerns, and provoke the conflict that is currently escalating. accused When it comes to serving as Russian propaganda in “Piers Morgan Uncensored,'' every step is being taken.
His inevitable conclusion? Deliberate choices have led to this dangerous impasse.
Let's be clear: Ukraine cannot and will not defeat Russia.
But if you say this out loud, you will immediately be labeled a Putin supporter. But Houghton is not a Kremlin cronies. He is ruthlessly logical, the voice of reason that cuts through the propaganda-fueled chaos.
If you value facts over emotion, read Provocation, a 1,000-page critique of the mainstream narrative that is leading Europe, and the world, to catastrophe. Packed with more than 6,000 footnotes, Horton methodically exposes the geopolitical movements that have brought us to the brink of extinction.
Betrayal rooted in the end of the Cold War
The seeds of the Ukraine crisis were sown in the early 1990s, at the end of the Cold War. U.S. officials assured Soviet leaders that NATO would not expand eastward. Although this promise was never formal, it was understood as sacred by key figures such as Mikhail Gorbachev.
Horton points out that former Secretary of State James Baker promised Gorbachev that NATO would not move “an inch east” beyond Germany. It was a brazen deception. By the mid-1990s, NATO had incorporated former Warsaw Pact countries, including Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic.
Boris Yeltsin, Russia's first post-Soviet president, warned Bill Clinton in 1994 that NATO expansion would undermine trust and divide Europe once again.
“NATO was founded during the Cold War,” Yeltsin argued. “Today, NATO is trying to find a place in Europe, and it is not difficult to do so. It is important that this quest fosters European unity, rather than creating new divisions. I believe that expansion plans go against this logic. Why expand NATO? After all, we are no longer enemies, we are partners.”
His pleas fell on deaf ears. Houghton emphasized the gravity of this oversight by quoting George Kennan, the architect of Cold War containment, who called NATO expansion “the most fateful mistake in American policy in the entire post-Cold War era.” I warned you that it would happen.
“The truth is that since the end of the last Cold War, successive administrations have pushed their so-called spheres of influence deep into Eastern Europe and expanded military alliances in violation of their solemn commitments and agreements,” Houghton told Align. “This means that it has even reached Russia.” border. ”
He goes on to outline a pattern of provocation.
“They overthrew Russia-friendly governments, including Ukraine, twice during the Bush and Obama years. They installed anti-ballistic missile defense systems with dubious dual-capable launchers and has supported Kiev's war against “government forces” and has continued to threaten to integrate the country into the NATO alliance, against the nation's best advice. America's foreign policy establishment knew better all along. ”
“These are not Russia's talking points,” Houghton stressed. “No more than they justify President Putin’s 2022 invasion and subsequent war. But they are true and, in his 25th year in office, the Russian president has no idea what his distorted view of history is. This is enough to overturn the lie that they were simply determined to reconquer Eastern Europe for no reason other than the interests of Tsarist Russia.
Mr. Houghton makes this point for his country. “He has always prioritized good relations with the West and tolerated the status quo in Crimea and Donbas until Washington repeatedly escalated the issue.”
Color revolution and the road to Maidan
In his book, Houghton reveals the deep roots of the turmoil in Ukraine, stretching back to the 2004 Orange Revolution. Moscow saw this moment as a Western power struggle rather than a democratic awakening.
For Russia's leaders, this was not a grassroots uprising. Traces of the West were everywhere, from funding the rebels to overt political support for Viktor Yushchenko. Yushchenko's contested victory signaled a shift away from Moscow's influence. For Russia, the message was clear. The West is not just knocking on the door, they are trying to kick it down.
A decade later, the Maidan revolution of 2014 turned smoldering tensions into a full-blown geopolitical inferno.
Houghton chronicles how protests against President Viktor Yanukovych's decision to prioritize relations with Moscow over European Union agreements descended into chaos, aided and abetted by US intervention. are. Yanukovych became a target because of his refusal to bow to Western pressure, and he was quickly ousted from power with support from Washington.
Then, a decisive event happened. It's a leaked phone call between Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland and US Ambassador Jeffrey Pyatt.
During the phone conversation, they openly discussed hand-picking Ukraine's next leader. This is proof that this is nothing but a coup disguised as a completely organic democratic uprising. For Moscow, this was more than just an intervention. It was an act of war by other means. The coup shattered any pretense of diplomacy, prompting Russia to annex Crimea and support separatists in Donbas.
Houghton argues that the West's actions not only provoked Russia, but also warranted a response. Crimea, home to Russia's vital Black Sea Fleet, would never fall into NATO's orbit without a fight
Ukraine's grim outlook
The human cost of these provocations is staggering, and Houghton offers a bleak prediction. “With the tragedy and defeat, Ukraine will lose at least four southern and eastern regions to Russia,” he says.
He warned that if Ukraine did not come to terms soon, key areas such as Kharkov and Odessa could fall. The latter is Ukraine's last major port city on the Black Sea and is extremely important for the country's survival. As he explains in our discussion: “Reversing the tide of the war on the ground will require direct U.S. intervention, and it will never be possible to go that far without risking direct war between Russia and NATO,” Biden said. I knew that too.”
Media collusion and misinformation
Horton isn't just targeting policymakers. He had similar disdain for the media, accusing them of rooting for the march to war. He told me that “The New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN, The Daily Beast, MSNBC, and National Review” are among the most shameless purveyors of pro-war propaganda.
By portraying the Ukraine conflict as a just war against imperialist Russia, these outlets conveniently sidestep America's role in fanning the flames. In his view, they are all guilty of being pro-war propagandists.
He's right. The narrative they push is both dangerous and delusional. They claim that Ukraine can be won, and those who refuse to drink the Kool-Aid are considered enemies of progress, peace and patriotism. Not only are the lunatics running asylums, but they are also dragging us to the brink of nuclear annihilation.
The path to peace?
Mr. Horton clearly sees the steps needed to end the war and urges American leaders to face uncomfortable realities. He demanded brutal honesty from both the American people and the Ukrainian people, insisting that they admit what was painfully obvious: the war could not be won.
“The best option is to seek peace immediately, before they are this far behind and have no further progress,” he told Align. A negotiated solution, although difficult and painful, is the only viable path to Ukraine's survival.
Horton sees a potential resolution under the Trump administration, citing the president's past attempts to defy the foreign policy establishment.
He cited the president-elect's response to Afghanistan as an example. “Mr. Trump must be brutally honest with the American people and the Ukrainian people, just as he so courageously did in Afghanistan. The war is lost, and our friends will lose even more territory.” We have to finish it first,” Horton explains.
In contrast, the Texas-based author argues that the Biden administration's approach stems from arrogance, highlighting a strategy that will further fan the flames of carnage.
Rather than seek a resolution, the US government escalated the conflict, ignoring the devastating consequences. As Horton warns, this hubris could have devastating costs, not just for Ukraine but for the entire world.
