With tensions in Crimea continuing to swell, so too has friction between the United States and Russian governments. On Monday, President Obama issued an executive order instituting travel bans and freezing the assets of Russian government officials believed to be responsible for Moscow’s military action in Crimea. The President further condemned Russia’s actions as clear violations of international law, hypocritically asserting a noninterventionist standard of international diplomacy that his own administration fails to follow.
"Although Russia has legitimate interest in what happens in a neighboring state," the President noted earlier this month, "that does not give it the right to use force as a means of exerting influence inside of that state." Sound familiar? President Obama made a completely contradictory case in favor of foreign intervention in Libya just two years ago, claiming that "[t]here will be times, though, when our safety is not directly threatened, but our interests and values are." Which is it, Mr. President? Can a country intervene if it has a "legitimate interest" to do so, or not?
The President’s hypocrisy in condemning the Kremlin for violating international law is incredible considering that the European Parliament rebuked the US drone program just two weeks ago, deeming it to violate international law by an overwhelming majority of 534 to 49.
Not more than six months ago, the world also watched as Obama pushed hard for congressional approval to engage in a military attack in Syria. Despite widespread dissension within the US, action in Syria would have violated both international law and the United Nations Charter just like Putin’s actions in Crimea. As David Davenport of Forbes explains, the use of poisonous gas in war is outlawed by a 1925 Geneva Protocol, but that doesn’t forbid its use domestically, no matter how heinous. An expanded Chemical Weapons Treaty, formed in 1993, also exists, but Syria is not a member. Further, the UN Charter only permits military force against another country for reasons of self defense or if it is sanctioned by the Security Council, for which the plan in Syria was not.
Clearly Obama’s current cries of international law violations in Crimea don’t carry the necessary weight. Yet, that hasn’t stopped Secretary of State John Kerry from echoing his sentiment in support of sanctions.
Continue reading “Obama’s Calls for Russian Sanctions Reveal Hypocrisy”