--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Okay, NATO expanded to East Berlin and…" description: "\"Okay, NATO expanded to East Berlin and East Germany. Under [Bill] Clinton NATO expanded further, to the former Russian satellites. In 2008 NATO formall..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6a8/noam-chomsky-42_berlin_okay-nato-expanded-to-east-berlin-and-ea_673019.jpg" --- # Okay, NATO expanded to East Berlin and East Germany. Under… ![“Okay, NATO expanded to East Berlin and East Germany. Under [Bill] Clinton NATO expanded further, to the former Russian satellites. In 2008 NATO formally made an offer to Ukraine to join NATO. That's unbelievable. I mean, Ukraine is the geopolitical heartland of Russian concern, quite aside from…” quote by Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6a8/noam-chomsky-42_berlin_okay-nato-expanded-to-east-berlin-and-ea_673019.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6a8/noam-chomsky-42_berlin_okay-nato-expanded-to-east-berlin-and-ea_673019.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6a8/noam-chomsky-42_berlin_okay-nato-expanded-to-east-berlin-and-ea_673019.jpg) > “Okay, NATO expanded to East Berlin and East Germany. Under \[Bill\] Clinton NATO expanded further, to the former Russian satellites. In 2008 NATO formally made an offer to Ukraine to join NATO. That's unbelievable. I mean, Ukraine is the geopolitical heartland of Russian concern, quite aside from historical connections, population and so on.” [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote critiques NATO’s eastward expansion, arguing it disregards Russian security concerns and risks geopolitical tension. **In simple terms:** NATO’s growth ignored Russia’s worries and may cause conflict. Key Takeaway Consider the broader impact of security alliances. Themes geopolitics security power dynamics Mood cautious critical Type political analytical When to use this quote - foreign policy analysis - diplomatic negotiations - strategic planning Key Concepts realism balance of power historical context Questions to Reflect On - How does expanding alliances affect regional stability? - What alternatives exist to address security concerns? A Different Perspective NATO expansion may provoke retaliation or escalation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Berlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/berlin/) [Connections](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/connections/) [East berlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/east-berlin/) [East germany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/east-germany/) [Geopolitical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/geopolitical/) [Germany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/germany/) [Historical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/historical/) [Russia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/russia/) [Satellites](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/satellites/) [Ukraine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ukraine/) ## Related quotes > [ Right at the beginning of all of this \[Ukraine to join NATO\], serious senior statesmen, people like \[George\] Kennan for example and others warned… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/right-at-the-beginning-of-all-of-this-ukraine-to-join-nato-serious/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [ \[Mikhail\] Gorbachev complained. He was told look, there's nothing on paper. People didn't actually say it but the implication was look, if you are… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/mikhail-gorbachev-complained-he-was-told-look-there-s-nothing-on/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Around 2008 and again in 2013 NATO officially offered the Ukraine the opportunity to join NATO. That's something no Russian government is ever going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/around-2008-and-again-in-2013-nato-officially-offered-the-ukraine-the/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [ \[Mikhail\] Gorbachev said that he would agree to the unification of Germany, and even adherence of Germany to NATO, which was quite a concession,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/mikhail-gorbachev-said-that-he-would-agree-to-the-unification-of/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [“move by Ukraine to join NATO, which the Kremlin says is a major threat to Russian security.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/move-by-ukraine-to-join-nato-which-the-kremlin-says-is-a-major-threat/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We also have a real opportunity to join NATO.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eduard-shevardnadze/we-also-have-a-real-opportunity-to-join-nato/) [Eduard Shevardnadze](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eduard-shevardnadze/) > [While Slovakia did not make the first round of NATO membership, as various requirements and reforms are instituted, these actions will enhance the opportunities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mica/while-slovakia-did-not-make-the-first-round-of-nato-membership-as/) [John Mica](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mica/) > [Turkey initiated true multiparty elections in 1950 to join NATO. As a requirement of its membership, NATO can and should demand that Turkey honor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fethullah-gulen/turkey-initiated-true-multiparty-elections-in-1950-to-join-nato-as-a/) [Fethullah Gulen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fethullah-gulen/) > [I know when the Berlin wall went down and I walked into what was East Berlin and saw two big Nike banners - that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-knight/i-know-when-the-berlin-wall-went-down-and-i-walked-into-what-was-east/) [Phil Knight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-knight/) > [My father loved to take us on historical vacations, and you should have seen the stares we received in East Berlin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-samuelsson/my-father-loved-to-take-us-on-historical-vacations-and-you-should/) [Marcus Samuelsson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-samuelsson/) > [When I was a kid, while touring East Berlin - back when there was an East Berlin - I got my left foot stuck…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-bleyer/when-i-was-a-kid-while-touring-east-berlin-back-when-there-was-an/) [Kevin Bleyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-bleyer/) > [Capitalism has created the highest standard of living ever known on earth. The evidence is incontrovertible. The contrast between West and East Berlin is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/capitalism-has-created-the-highest-standard-of-living-ever-known-on/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [Chocolate and candy. That's what we brought in to our friends. We worked in East Berlin with other artists who were smuggled out to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whoopi-goldberg/chocolate-and-candy-that-s-what-we-brought-in-to-our-friends-we/) [Whoopi Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whoopi-goldberg/) > [Architects thrive after massive urban disasters. The abject collapse of East Berlin gave us the only city in Europe with a mighty host of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-sterling/architects-thrive-after-massive-urban-disasters-the-abject-collapse/) [Bruce Sterling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-sterling/) > [“The ethos of East Berlin punk infused the city with a radical egalitarianism and a DIY approach to maintaining independence-to conjuring up the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-mohr/the-ethos-of-east-berlin-punk-infused-the-city-with-a-radical/) Tim Mohr ## More by Noam Chomsky > [The costs of the Bush-Obama wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now estimated to run as high as $4.4 trillion - a major victory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-costs-of-the-bush-obama-wars-in-iraq-and-afghanistan-are-now/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [If you believe in democracy, why shouldn't you know what the government is doing?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/if-you-believe-in-democracy-why-shouldn-t-you-know-what-the/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [It’s a shameful moment for U.S. media when it insists on being subservient to the grotesque propaganda agencies of a violent, aggressive state.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/it-s-a-shameful-moment-for-u-s-media-when-it-insists-on-being/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [There are questions as to whether it should even exist. Who should corporations be responsive to, the management of a corporation? Theoretically they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/there-are-questions-as-to-whether-it-should-even-exist-who-should/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Governments regard their own citizens as their main enemy, and they have to be - protect themselves. That's why you have state secret laws.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/governments-regard-their-own-citizens-as-their-main-enemy-and-they/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [I don't join the New Atheists. So, for example, I wouldn't have the arrogance to lecture some mother who hopes to see her dying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/i-don-t-join-the-new-atheists-so-for-example-i-wouldn-t-have-the/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [The first thing you ought to do is verify what I present. Just because I say it doesn't make it true. So check it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-first-thing-you-ought-to-do-is-verify-what-i-present-just-because/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [ I wrote an article about the marine landing \[in Haiti\] right away, but barely mentioned the oil, because my article would come out two… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/i-wrote-an-article-about-the-marine-landing-in-haiti-right-away-but/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [American society is now remarkably atomized. Political organizations have collapsed. In fact, it seems like even bowling leagues are collapsing. The left has a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/american-society-is-now-remarkably-atomized-political-organizations/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Discovery is the ability to be puzzled by simple things. Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/discovery-is-the-ability-to-be-puzzled-by-simple-things-noam-chomsky/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [There's an interesting book about that called The Third Reich and the Ivory Tower, written by Stephen H. Norwood. It has a long discussion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/there-s-an-interesting-book-about-that-called-the-third-reich-and-the/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [This is class war on an international scale, and power is in the hands of those who control the international economic system.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/this-is-class-war-on-an-international-scale-and-power-is-in-the-hands/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [There are big, extremely irrational parts of the society, and they have now been mobilized politically by the Republican establishment, hoping that these people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/there-are-big-extremely-irrational-parts-of-the-society-and-they-have/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [There's plenty to criticize about the mass media, but they are the source of regular information about a wide range of topics. You can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/there-s-plenty-to-criticize-about-the-mass-media-but-they-are-the/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [The 50,000 Korean mercenaries we had in Vietnam were professional killers and just massacred people outright. And the American army did plenty of that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-50-000-korean-mercenaries-we-had-in-vietnam-were-professional/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) [Explore all 2,129 Noam Chomsky quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) ## More Berlin quotes > [This brings me back to the image of Kafka standing before a fish in the Berlin aquarium, a fish on which his gaze fell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/this-brings-me-back-to-the-image-of-kafka-standing-before-a-fish-in/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [I did a concert... in September with the Berlin Philharmonic... They're great musicians, and there's always something to learn from them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecilia-bartoli/i-did-a-concert-in-september-with-the-berlin-philharmonic-they-re/) [Cecilia Bartoli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecilia-bartoli/) > [The fall of the Berlin Wall makes for nice pictures. But it all started in the shipyards.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lech-walesa/the-fall-of-the-berlin-wall-makes-for-nice-pictures-but-it-all/) [Lech Walesa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lech-walesa/) > [The music changed. We had Irving Berlin and Gershwin and Lerner and Loewe and Cole Porter. Great music. Now we have 'Rent.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyd-charisse/the-music-changed-we-had-irving-berlin-and-gershwin-and-lerner-and/) [Cyd Charisse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyd-charisse/) > [My works are dear to me, each in its own way, I shall have to answer for them on the Day off Judgement. God…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-chagall/my-works-are-dear-to-me-each-in-its-own-way-i-shall-have-to-answer/) [Marc Chagall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-chagall/) > [I'm not a prophet, but I always thought it was natural for dictatorships to fall. I remember in 1989, two months before the fall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/i-m-not-a-prophet-but-i-always-thought-it-was-natural-for/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [The church of St. Peter at Berlin, notwithstanding the total difference between them in the style of building, appears in some respects to have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-philipp-moritz/the-church-of-st-peter-at-berlin-notwithstanding-the-total-difference/) [Karl Philipp Moritz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-philipp-moritz/) > [...what happened in New York and Washington is the same thing that England and America did to Berlin every day for three years during…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lemmy-kilmister/what-happened-in-new-york-and-washington-is-the-same-thing-that/) [Lemmy Kilmister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lemmy-kilmister/) > [I am in Paris. Yes ma'am , I made it back. I came up from Berlin, stopped here ten days, fought a losing battle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-anne-porter/i-am-in-paris-yes-ma-am-i-made-it-back-i-came-up-from-berlin-stopped/) [Katherine Anne Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-anne-porter/) > [God bless America, land that I love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-berlin/god-bless-america-land-that-i-love/) [Irving Berlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-berlin/) > [I wouldn't want to live in Berlin. It's bombed out and there's a lot of techno.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sloane-crosley/i-wouldn-t-want-to-live-in-berlin-it-s-bombed-out-and-there-s-a-lot/) [Sloane Crosley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sloane-crosley/) > [Berlin is still a very edgy place, a very cosmopolitan place. 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