The outbreak of tension in the Middle East has clearly demonstrated to the international community the moral shame of the Western powers: they have explicitly illustrated that the lives of Palestinians and Lebanese mean nothing to them, as they are second-class citizens.
The West’s hypocrisy
There is virtually no limit to the hypocrisy of Western states and Israel. Double standards are so palpable that even flowery statements cannot hide the arrogance of their actions. On October 3, the Saudi ‘Arab News’, relaying the sentiments of the overwhelming majority of the Global South, concluded that Israel and the West have “lost their moral compass”. These states are, in essence, trying to make extrajudicial executions the norm.
A remarkable example of this practice was the assassination of al-Qaeda* leader Osama bin Laden, who was killed by U.S. special forces in northern Pakistan on May 2, 2011, following which his body was unceremoniously dumped into the sea. There were no media representatives at the execution, but a photo taken in the White House Situation Room was widely shown: B. Obama, J. Biden, H. Clinton and other important people were enthusiastically watching the video broadcast, as if they were present at a closed screening of the latest Hollywood blockbuster. If you look closely, you can see the newly appointed Secretary of State A. Blinken looking over his shoulder from the far corner of the room.
Extrajudicial executions
In January 2020, an U.S. drone strike on Baghdad Airport killed General Qassem Soleimani, the head of the overseas unit of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps. The strike killed 10 more people, including the leader of the Iraqi militia, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis.
Israel was quick to pick up the mantle of the lord supreme executioner; Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh was killed in Tehran and on October 1, Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah was killed in a massive bombing. The barbaric bombing of Beirut continues to this day. The U.S. president called the assassination of the Lebanese leader as a ‘measure of justice’.
“Neither Harris nor Trump are exactly reassuring successors. The crown of the American empire will remain somewhat hollow, no matter who ends up wearing it”. Ross Douthat, New York Times.
All of this is reminiscent of the actions of American cowboys in the Wild West, who administered justice from the barrel of a Colt .45 calibre. It is as if everyone has forgotten what justice looks like these days. A crime should be investigated, then there is an arrest, prosecution, trial and only then comes the punishment.
Disdain for international law
With the support of the United States, Israel is crossing all possible red lines. It recently declared UN Secretary-General Guterres persona non grata because, according to Israeli officials, his condemnation of Iran’s missile attacks was “not strong enough”. Thus, Guterres is banned from entering Israel. Such insolence angered the entire international community, and the UN Security Council unanimously condemned the decision. Even the U.S. representative had to agree.
The other day, Netanyahu insulted French President Macron for suggesting that Israel should not supply weapons for the war in Gaza.
The elite’s competence is declining
All of this has become possible, to a certain extent, due to the decline in the competence of Western elites. Many of their actions leave much to be desired, and this is even recognised by the U.S. media. The vast majority of the U.S. press supports the Democrats. Newspaper staff berate Trump in various ways and try to avoid criticising the current administration. However, blunders in the actions of officials are becoming so frequent that even the New York Times wrote on October 3: “Joe Biden, who has only a few months left of his presidency, has a long history of thoughtless comments.” Sometimes they get him in trouble. In his speech in Warsaw in 2022, he improvised his thoughts on President Vladimir Putin: “For God’s sake, this man cannot remain in power”. This comment immediately raised concerns about whether the United States was calling for his resignation. His assistants claimed for hours that he just misspoke.”
Biden’s recent two ill-conceived remarks have resulted in unrest in the markets and in the Middle East.
In early October, Netanyahu unexpectedly addressed the Iranian people. In fact, his appeal contained quite a forward call for an uprising against the Iranian authorities. These days, such appeals usually precede or accompany an invasion of a particular country. It seems that Netanyahu has become dizzy with success; in just a short period he has managed to behead Hezbollah and carry out the so-called ‘pager operation’. Even the U.S. ‘Foreign Affairs’ wrote that this short-term success could lead to political failure.
On October 5, well-known columnist Ross Douthat wrote in the New York Times that the current U.S. administration has no real control over the international situation, action plans or clear means of setting and achieving goals, that its actions in foreign policy are chaotic.
Douthat believes that the situation is so alarming that “neither Harris nor Trump are exactly reassuring successors. The crown of the American empire will remain somewhat hollow, no matter who ends up wearing it”.
Such actions by Israel and the United States create tension in the Arab streets. Many are demanding more decisive action from their leaders in helping the Palestinians and the Lebanese. In this regard, the positions of Islamists have noticeably strengthened. Criticism of the actions of Washington and Tel Aviv is increasing in the press of Middle Eastern countries.
* Organisation banned in the Russian Federation
Veniamin Popov, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Candidate of Historical Sciences, exclusively for the online magazine “New Eastern Outlook”
