Aleksashenko views the decision to enlarge NATO, announced at the end of 1994, as the defining event in the post-Cold War decade, sowing the seeds of a new confrontation between the East and the West. Neither Clinton nor his opponent, Bush, had mentioned enlargement during the elections. Policymakers could not explain why a politico-military alliance was still needed after the adversary and the Soviet military threat had vanished. Eastern European countries sought to prevent potential Russian aggression, while Pentagon generals looked eagerly for cooperation with their Russian counterparts. This chapter concludes that President Clinton did not clarify his thinking before making this decision, thereby sacrificing the potential partnership with Russia.