From Bush’s Freedom Agenda to the Color Revolutions

Abstract

The United States advanced its economic, political and military goals in the countries of the Caucasus even further through its “freedom agenda” and war on terror. This increased tensions because the policy-makers in Washington failed to respect the legitimate interests of the Russian Federation in Eurasia, threatening its geostrategic security, territorial integrity and social cohesion, and making its western borders vulnerable through the expansion of NATO. The Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Igor Ivanov warned Secretary of State Colin Powell that Washington should understand that Russia’s concerns regarding the direct involvement of American troops in Georgia’s territory were legitimate, and that disregarding them could complicate the situation in the region. In fact, the United States had established NATO’s Partnership for Peace Program (NATO-PfP) for the former Soviet republics, conducting joint military exercises in the region since 1997. All Central Asian countries joined NATO’s North American Co-operation Council (NATC). And in 1999, the United States integrated Georgia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan and Moldova into a military structure (GUUAM) that sought to create a real alternative to the Commonwealth of Independent States led by Russia. An initial step to include these countries in NATO.