Fashionable anti-Americanism

DAY

Being anti-American is fashionable in some circles. Russian, Chinese or certain developing country propaganda does not hesitate to do so.

In two words, the recipe is always the same: the United States is responsible for all evils.

Above all, do not talk about the incompetence or corruption of the leaders of countries that are doing badly. Quickly, these conspiracy theorists will tell you that the corruption comes precisely from the United States or that the Americans and their allies are plotting to keep incompetents and lackeys in power.

However, several countries have managed to get out of poverty and even become rich, like Singapore, Taiwan or Costa Rica, when according to all these propagandists, they should have continued to suffer the yoke of the rich countries.

La war in Ukraine has perked up anti-American propaganda.

• Don't miss Loïc Tassé's column at the microphone of Benot Dutrizac, daily on QUB radio: 

Impossible comparison

This propaganda tries to minimize the crimes of the Russian army by comparing this war to those launched by the States United States.

In modern times, the United States has fought a few damnable wars, against Vietnam and Iraq, in particular.

But even in these wars, the US government did not seek to annex territories. He did not systematically target civilian populations to win the war. He also did not want to destroy the culture of these peoples. He did not deny the right to exist of these countries. He was not stealing children from these countries to make them American children. He did not encourage the displacement of populations.

Yet these are the war crimes that Russia is committing in Ukraine. These are genocidal acts within the meaning of the UN definition.

Not an American war

The other main line of Russian propaganda is trying to make people believe that the war in Ukraine is actually a war initiated by the United States.

False. Ukraine was not about to join NATO. None of the NATO members threatened to invade Russian territory. Moreover, Ukraine had dismantled its nuclear bombs with the promise that Russia would respect its borders.

Does this mean that the United States is white as snow? No. They did not help Russia enough during the fall of the USSR. They never forgave Vladimir Putin for nationalizing oil companies.

However, the US government cannot be blamed for supporting Ukrainians who wanted to establish democracy and helping them to replace the puppet that Putin wanted to keep in power in their country.

The defense of building a democracy, however imperfect, always trumps that of maintaining a dictatorship, profitable as it is for its elites.

In fact, the war in Ukraine is the continuation of a long Russian genocidal enterprise begun in the 19th century, continued by Stalin and, now, taken over by Putin.