When it’s convenient, Obama invokes international law, pointing his finger at other leaders like Putin (saying, for example, “There is a strong belief that Russia’s action is violating international law.”)
Meanwhile, Obama again and again seriously flouts international law himself. Obama can no longer invoke principle without accusing himself because of his own contradictions and hypocrisy. Compare his opposing policies in Ukraine and Syria.
Obama is against fighting men crossing into southeastern Ukraine from Russian and other lands. Obama supports fighting men crossing into Syria from other lands in that region. In Ukraine’s case, he supports the central government; in Syria’s case, he does not. He’s for Poroshenko and against Assad. In Ukraine, Obama is forging permanent military relations with the central government. He’ll be sending arms, training and advisers. In Syria, Obama supports rebels and demands that Assad go. He wants to bring down the government.
Why is Obama flouting the UN Charter? The Charter calls for “self-determination of people”. But Obama disregards the elections in Syria that brought Assad to power, instigates and blesses a coup d’etat in Ukraine and stands against self-determination in Crimea and southeastern Ukraine. Obama has plainly threatened Syria with bombing, interfered with its domestic politics and supplied rebels with aid, arms and training, all of which contravenes Article 2, Section 4 of the UN Charter.
Why is the US government choosing any sides in either of these countries and wars? Obama made efforts to extricate America from Iraq and Afghanistan. Why then has he engaged America in new battles, wars and conflicts in Pakistan, Syria, Yemen, Somalia, Ukraine, Libya and other places? Why has he become more truculent toward China?
The interesting thing about an empire is how moronic its policies can be, how it can destroy itself, and how it can spread misery in the process. One might think that the experiences in Vietnam, Haiti, Iraq and Afghanistan would have taught this administration to refrain from further interventions, at least for a few years. Not at all! It rushes headlong into new ones. The domestic politics of the U.S. produces ignorant and shallow leaders who are imbued with an ideology that they cannot shake or alter and that determines their moral being. Witness Bush and Obama. Obama even declares in the strongest terms his belief in American exceptionalism. American power has gone to their heads. They’ve flipped out in terms of their guiding moral principles and beliefs.
7:18 am on June 8, 2014
