PETER HITCHENS: Why I blame the arrogant, foolish West for the Ukraine crisis

We have been utter fools.

We have treated Russia with amazing stupidity. Now we pay the price for that. We had the chance to make her an ally, friend and partner. 

Instead we turned her into an enemy by insulting a great and proud country with greed, unearned superiority, cynicism, contempt and mistrust.

I have to endure, often several times a day, listening to people who are normally perfectly sensible and reasonable, raging wildly against Russia and Russians.

Once, I was just like them. I had the normal anti-Russian prejudice of so many Western people. 

But, by great fortune, I am not like them now. I lived in Russia, I knew Russians as friends. I learned to distinguish between what was Russian and what was Communist.

And I saw something most people will never see – a pivotal event in…