Bill Clinton: In retrospect, the decision to expand NATO eastward was the right one. Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic joined NATO in 1999, but critics repeatedly claim that Moscow's security interests were ignored.
Former US President Clinton: “Sometimes you just have to take a risk” March 12, 1999 is an important date in the history of NATO: the former Eastern Bloc states Czech Republic,. Poland and Hungary joined the transatlantic defense alliance. Back then, Bill Clinton was President of the USA - now, 25 years later, he defended the countries' admission into NATO against criticism.