The warning message we sent the Russians was a calculated ambiguity that would be clearly understood.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
Now the difficulty with those warnings is that they were not specific.
Finally Germany's attack on Russia seemed to confirm that Russia was not shirking and was prepared to carry out a foreign policy with the risk of war with Germany.
Come to find out, the Russians were never afraid of the Americans. They weren't raised with the terror that we were by our government. I was struck by how our government misled us for so many years.
We didn't push the Russians to intervene, but we knowingly increased the probability that they would.
With regards to the expansion of NATO, I see it as a mistake, even a provocation in a way.
The way I understand it, the Russians are sort of a combination of evil and incompetence... sort of like the Post Office with tanks.
To say that you now trust the Russian military command and control system because some Russian general told you from the bottom of his heart that's the case, strikes me as most unrealistic.
Our military might is the guarantor of Russia's security and independence.
Journalists do not like to report on uncertainties. They would almost rather be wrong than ambiguous.
Since that time I have had continuous contact with the persons who were completely unknown to me, except that I knew they would hand whatever information I gave them to the Russian authorities.
No opposing quotes found.