The chicken or the egg? The West created powerful Stalin, so without powerful Stalin there would not have been need for NATO, correct? Another reason for the creation of NATO was preventing nationalism and fostering integration of Europe. Aren't you curious that Finland, the country that bordered the USSR was not a part of the NATO creation? They were not concerned with Stalin, obviously. Not sure why Portugal or Canada was.
Yalta effectively allowed the USSR to install Communist regimes in Central Europe with impunity. At the Yalta conference, the Big Three “attempted to sacrifice freedom for the sake of stability,” and many believe the decisions and concessions of Roosevelt and Churchill during the summit led to the following power struggle during the Cold War.
