Dan Koenig writes:

> I am a pacifist and I particularly deplore killing innocent
> non-combatants either directly or indirectly ANYWHERE.  So why not
> an outcry about Russia's bombing?
>
> One word, Martin, hypocrisy.
>
> Russia is under the influence of blatantly corrupt and self serving
> thugs who make no pretence about doing anything other than acting in
> their own egoistic self interest (not even national self interest).
> The U.S., on the other hand, holds itself out to be noble,
> altruistic, very caring about the sanctity of life and innocent
> civilians, government by the people, non aggressive, and so much
> more bullfeathers under the leadership of the self proclaimed
> enlightened and sanctimonious Clinton with his bible under his arm
> as he heads to church every Sunday.

But that's the way Russia presented prior to and during the NATO
action.  Russia was the voice of reason, the good cop to the US's bad
cop.  There is hypocrisy everywhere.  I don't see Russia as being any
worse than any other sovereign.

> That is why people are so outraged by the American atrocities and
> war crimes (and throw in lapdog Tony Flair with him).  NATO
> notwithstanding, this was clearly an American campaign, as Iraq
> was/is an Anglo-American campaign.

That's not right.  In the end, if all the nations that supported the
Iraq action had chosen not to, then it would have been an American
campaign.  If the other members of NATO had refused, there would have
been no Yugoslavia campaign.  Don't say they couldn't have, that the
US forced them against their will.  We all have choices.  We all have
free will.  The members of NATO chose to participate.  The
participants in the Iraq war chose to participate.  Activists have
chosen not to protest the Russian campaign.

> Some of us expect more of people who tell us they share our values
> than we do of people whom we know care nothing more than about their
> self interest.

I thought the idea was to save the Chechens, not punish the Russians.
Isn't the point of activism to stand in solidarity with the weak and
oppressed?  You make it sound like the point of activism is to defeat
the bully.  Since you can't defeat the bully, the weak and oppressed
get slaughtered.

Well, you're half right.  You can't defeat the bully.

martin

Martin Smith                    Email: [log in to unmask]
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