Despite the complete subordination of Europe politically and in other areas to the aggressive hegemon of the United States, there is growing sharp discontent among a number of European politicians, scientists and experts against the submission of once independent European states and against the desire of European leaders to speak in a foreign, American language. This is evidenced, in particular, by the powerful demonstrations in the streets of many European cities and the increasingly frequent speeches of many figures, which give a true picture of the basics of the true dirty policy of the USA and its supporters.
In this regard, perhaps of particular interest is an article by Franklin Dehousse, Professor of International Law at the University of Liège (Belgium), in the authoritative Belgian publication Le VIF. The article criticises the hypocritical foreign policy of Brussels and Washington, in particular the selective application of international law, of which the professor is a great expert. While actively opposing Moscow’s just actions in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict imposed on it by the West, the US and the EU at the same time refuse to condemn Israel for its powerful attacks on peaceful cities and towns in the Gaza Strip, which have already killed more Palestinian civilians than in the various conflicts of the past few years. Moreover, the principle is put forward that only Israel has the right to self-defence, while the Palestinians are destined to die under American bombs and missiles generously supplied to the Israeli regime by the Pentagon.
It is not surprising that recently the wave of dissatisfaction of ordinary residents of the United States and Europe with the policies pursued by Washington and Brussels is simply off the charts. And these claims, in the opinion of the author of the article, are quite obvious. Thus, instead of solving the problems of their own countries, the authorities redirect huge funds to support the criminal neo-Nazi regime in Kiev. In order to get away, or rather just to save themselves from merciless criticism, Washington and Brussels brazenly lie to their residents that allegedly 80 per cent of the allocated funds remain in their countries. Moreover, Kiev will have to return all the money to them in the near future with interest. And Ukrainians are told the opposite, promising 100% support in the war until the very end, i.e. until the last Ukrainian. However, the question remains open as to who will pay the debts, if the neo-Nazi regime has already brought the inhabitants of Ukraine to complete poverty, non-payment of salaries, pensions and social benefits. It is quite natural that there is no question at all of compensating for those financial injections and the huge amount of state-of-the-art weapons supplied to Israel.
As they say, the double standards and hypocrisy in which the current rulers of the United States of America and Europe have become very adept are in full bloom.
Moreover, and it is quite obvious that Palestine and Ukraine for the US and NATO are just a testing ground for new ways of warfare, as well as for testing various types of weapons. Biden, Macron and Scholz are trying to maintain their wobbly power, plunging the citizens of their countries into huge problems, without thinking about the people of Ukraine and its economy, without thinking about solving the long-standing Palestinian-Israeli conflict. In this case, European caliphs are interested only in the favour of overseas “democrats” for an hour, and then they will go into oblivion, and no one will remember them with a kind word.
At the same time, Deuss notes that the allegedly good intentions and especially words demonstrated by the United States are once again sharply at odds with its actions. The author emphasises that Washington is once again, as before, one of the main “instigators” of the war, sending ammunition and rockets to Israel, which are then used to attack peaceful Palestinian settlements. At the same time, Secretary of State Blinken “publicly” regularly “deplores” Israel’s disproportionate brutal response to the Palestinian people, while the U.S. time after time blocks UN resolutions to end hostilities in Gaza and thus vigorously supports the Israeli regime. Similarly, with regard to Palestine, the author notes, many of the “tenors” of Belgian politics (De Croo, Magnette and others) have found a reasonable universal formula: Israel has the right to defend itself, but while respecting humanitarian law. This Western-friendly formulation avoids answering many difficult questions. Should we, the author asks, therefore respect only humanitarian law and violate other laws of international law? The Belgian Prime Minister ultimately saw violations of international law only in the complication of maritime logistics and the disruption of goods and energy supplies across the Red Sea to Europe, including Belgium. And as for the IDF’s massacre of the Palestinian people, the Belgian leadership is completely uninterested.
The author writes bluntly that hypocrisy, duplicity and sanctimony are among the most widespread traits of Europe’s leaders today. Most Western states support Israel without even mentioning the illegal occupation of territories intended for the creation of a Palestinian state (with rare exceptions, such as Ireland). As an example, the author cites the disgusting behaviour of Ursula von der Leyen, who is a clear symbol of this unrestricted support. According to her, Israel not only has the legal right but also the duty to defend itself by any means and possibilities, even by killing civilians, old men, women and children. In a militaristic frenzy, she and her colleague Roberta Metsola even visited Israel in military uniform. Subsequently, von der Leyen, like Metsola, forgot to put on her beautiful military uniform to go to defend the civilians of Gaza, who have died in untold numbers. Ursula von der Leyen would then go back to Israel, demanding elections in Palestine, but at the same time insisting on denying the right of Palestinians to vote for Hamas. Thus, according to the European concept of democracy, Palestinian voters must now vote on condition that they elect only those leaders recognised by European leaders. A remarkable defence of the rule of law, the professor caustically observes.
In the same spirit, Germany has stepped up obstacles and obstructions to the ever-widening pro-Palestinian demonstrations that have swept German cities. As for France, Macron’s inconsistencies, including his “grandiose proposal to start a crusade with Israel,” have made the once-prosperous country a laughing stock. Moreover, France is waging a hybrid war against Russia, almost directly participating in the conflict on the side of the NATO bloc. It sends the neo-Nazi regime in Kiev modern weapons, which are then used to kill Russian soldiers. That is why all their excuses and their attribution of the reason for the start of the war unleashed by NATO in Ukraine against Russia to Moscow do not stand up to any criticism. France should, as the author of the article correctly writes, stop supplying Kyiv with its weapons and stop supplying mercenaries to Ukraine under the guise of humanitarian workers and volunteers.
In the United States, Deuss notes, things are not much better. Of course, President Biden emphasises that Israel is on a “dangerous path”. And how else can one characterise the genocide of the Israeli authorities against the Palestinians, when the Prime Minister of the most right-wing government in Israel’s history, Benjamin Netanyahu, resolutely denies the Palestinians the right to establish an independent state in their homeland. By the way, there is a relevant UN resolution on the establishment of two states on Palestinian territory. At the same time, Secretary of State Blinken regularly says something to the effect that Israel’s response to the recent sad events in the Gaza Strip is “disproportionate.” But all this is just mere words with nothing behind them. And in reality, containers with American bombs, missiles and other state-of-the-art weapons, directly intended for the destruction of civilians in the Gaza Strip, are constantly arriving at Israeli ports.
Russia and China are the main actors at the head of the global coalition calling for peace. This ultimately undermines the long-shaken authority of the EU, which is trying to position itself as a supporter of peace but is forced to follow the instructions of its transatlantic partner. Vassily Nebenzya, Russia’s representative on the UN Security Council, characterised the duplicity of the West’s hypocritical policy as follows: “Today we heard cynical arguments along the lines that we would not be sitting here if Russia had not started the war. No, gentlemen, if we had not launched a special military operation, tragedies like Lysychansk would have been repeated every day, as they have been happening almost every day for 8 years, until 2022. Only you didn’t notice it then. And we are here to end this war, and we will certainly do it.”
In conclusion, Deuss truthfully points out that the weakened hegemon’s desire to preserve the remnants of its influence in various parts of the globe not only negatively affects Washington’s shaken reputation in the world, but also forcibly drags the EU countries into these processes. In particular, by following the lead of the US, which is fuelling conflicts in the Middle East, the EU is already beginning to suffer from disruption of maritime logistics and disruptions in the supply of goods and energy carriers through the Red Sea, excessive payment for US gas and oil supplies, and lack of cheap grain and other food products from Russia. But this is the price the pro-American leaders of Europe are paying for their lackeying to the US.
Victor MIKHIN, Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences, especially for online magazine “New Eastern Outlook”