Russia talks tough as US moral nakedness is exposed

NEW YORK - When US Ambassador Alejandro Wolff blasted Russia for its recent invasion of Georgia and for its perceived violations of international law and the UN charter, the articulate Russian envoy Vitaly Churkin hit back with a load of stinging sarcasm.

"Did you find any weapons of mass destruction in Iraq?" "And are you still looking for them?" he asked.
Churkin was implicitly taking a shot at the US which invaded Iraq on the pretext of destroying Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's nuclear, biological and chemical weapons. But after more than five years of a devastating war, no such weapons have been found in Iraq, although US and coalition forces are still in military occupation of the country.

A picture taken on March 18, 2008 shows Russian Topol ICBM missiles during a rehearsal for the nation's annual May 9 Victory Day parade, 50 km outside Moscow in Yushkovo. Russia on August 28, 2008 successfully tested an intercontinental ballistic missile designed to overcome anti-missile systems, news agencies reported, citing Russia's strategic nuclear forces. AFP

The very invasion of Iraq did not receive the blessings of the Security Council and was in clear violation of the UN charter. So, how do you reconcile Iraq with Georgia? When you lose your moral high ground by your own military misadventures, it is hard to condemn the transgressions of others, although two wrongs don't make a right.

Does the US, which is entrenched both in Iraq and also in Afghanistan (along with other Western powers), have the moral authority to point an accusing finger at Russia when its own hands are not clean?

Do the Western powers, most of whom were quick to recognize the new nation state of Kosovo, a breakaway province of Serbia, have the right to condemn the Russians for recognizing Abkhazia and South Ossetia as two new states independent of Georgia?

Last week US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice warned Russia that it should not make any attempt to get UN recognition for the two Russian-sponsored states. "I want to be very clear," she said, "Since the United States is a permanent member (with veto powers in the Security Council), this simply will be dead on arrival."

The Russians, on the other hand, have already made sure that Western-sponsored Kosovo is already dead -- even before its arrival at the UN. Hinting at US and Western double standards, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev made it very clear: "In international relations, you cannot have one rule for some, and another rule for others."

The current tug-of-war has turned the Security Council into a political battleground as the Americans and the Russians blasted each other-- as in the days of the Cold War of the 1970s. In a speech dripping with sarcasm, Churkin said that, if aliens had been present, they would have been proud of the Security Council members who were suddenly "full of principles" -- principles the US violated in Iraq and principles the Western powers are violating in Afghanistan.

The bombings by US and NATO forces continue to kill hundreds of civilians which, under normal circumstances, should be deemed war crimes. But that's a weapon meant primarily to punish non-Western nations, particularly in Africa and Asia.

According to a UN report released last week, at least 60 children were killed during a US military operation in Afghanistan. "This is a matter of grave concern to the United Nations," said Kai Eide, the UN Special Representative for Afghanistan. "It is vital that international and Afghan military forces thoroughly review the conduct of this operation in order to prevent a repeat of this tragic incident."

But since such civilian casualties are common both in Afghanistan and Iraq, there is little the international community can do to punish the offenders because they are committed by Western military forces.
Ramesh Thakur, a former vice rector of the UN University and currently with the Centre for International Governance Innovation in Canada, warns that those who wish to back rebel movements and internationalise a crisis by intervening militarily had better be prepared for payback time in other places and other conflicts.

He points out that Russia's actions in backing South Ossetia and Abkhazia to break away from Georgia, NATO actions to detach Kosovo from Serbia, and US and British actions in Iraq, all prove the risks of unilateral interpretations and actions -- and most importantly of the wisdom of channeling action through the UN.

But the new Russian-Western confrontation is threatening to bring the UN and the Security Council to a complete standstill. Flush with oil money and an invigorated economy, Russia is now able to flex its political muscle more effectively than during the days of the Cold War.

The US and Western powers have already threatened to bar Russia from the World Trade Organisation (WTO), whose membership Moscow has sought for nearly 13 years. But Russia has countered the new threat by saying it sees no advantage in joining the world trade body and may even withdraw some of the trade agreements it had reached to facilitate the process.

The Russians are also expected to retaliate by refusing to cooperate with Western nations over sanctions against Iran, strictures against Myanmar and the battle against international terrorism.