Sunday, July 11, 2010

America: The World's Master of Double Standards

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July 10, 2010 at 16:40:42

America: The World's Master of Double Standards


By michael payne (about the author) Page 1 of 2 page(s)


opednews.com


For OpEdNews: michael payne - Writer

It's really a monumental job that we have to keep all these nations under some kind of semblance of control and compliance; but, then again, someone has to do it and we are the best qualified for the job. That's why we have established the set rules that we expect the rest of the world to follow.

But wait, is that not a contradiction? Isn't that a double standard, defined as "when something is deemed acceptable for use by one group of people, but is considered unacceptable for use by any other group?" Yep, that is exactly true. And in the case of America that has now become the rule as we currently occupy a position in the world that no other nation can match or even challenge -- at least militarily. So, therefore, we set down the rules and the rest of the world must follow them.

Here are some examples of what other nations might try to do, but according to the rules we have set it could not be justified, and their actions would have to be condemned:

*China invades and occupies Taiwan.

*Russia invades and occupies Georgia or Turkmenistan.


*Iran attacks Israel.

*India launches drones against Pakistan.

If any such attacks took place, how would America react? Why, we would demand an immediate end to this flagrant violation of international law. We would condemn the invaders and we would demand that the United Nations and all our allies do the same. We would be shocked at such violent aggression against sovereign nations and their civilian populations. We would call such actions a war crime, illegal, immoral, unconscionable.

Hypocrisy, anyone?

I'm reminded that Russia, in fact, actually invaded and occupied portions of the nation of Georgia in 2008; but, as reliable sources documented, Georgia had initiated these actions when they invaded the independent, separatist regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, and Russia retaliated. Regardless of the facts, after this turmoil began, the U.S. government vehemently denounced the Russia actions, claiming they were a violation of international law. But Georgia's were not?

Some cynic might ask, why is it if we have invaded and occupied Iraq and Afghanistan, and are making incursions into Pakistan, that these other nations such as Russia could not, under any circumstances no matter what the reason, invade other nations? The answer is very simple because that's the rule that we have put in place; we have the right to do it but others do not. It's because we say so. If it's a double standard, well so what? If some nations don't like it, just what are they going to do about it?

In researching this issue, it was determined that one other nation came very close to getting the top award for setting double standards -- Israel, a nation that has practiced the technique of double standards in the Middle East for over 40 years. The entire world knows that Israel possesses a nuclear arsenal but Israel will not acknowledge it and refuses to join the NPT, the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which has been signed by 189 other nations.

Israel continues to accuse Iran of covertly building a nuclear weapon and has threatened to bomb the suspected nuclear facilities numerous times. It insists that Iran has no right to nuclear weapons because that would pose great danger to the Middle East. So, we have to conclude that it is perfectly okay for Israel to have nuclear capability but Iran, who insists that it is only developing nuclear power for peaceful purposes, must immediately suspend its programs. It's the old double standard once again; Israel can do anything it wants in the Middle East but Iran and other nations cannot, thus taking hypocrisy to new heights.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is an international organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy and to inhibit its use for any military purpose. Acting as an agency of the UN, it has inspected Iran's nuclear program and facilities for years and has found no concrete evidence of any nuclear weapons development.

Has the IAEA been able to do the same thing in Israel, which clearly has one of the biggest arsenals in the world? Absolutely not! Because Israel refuses to admit to this fact. The U.S., which knows they have the arsenal, is not demanding that Israel join the NPT nor would it sanction inspections by the IAEA. Further, President Obama recently stated that Israel has the right to have nuclear weapons for defensive purposes. Is that not another double standard? Of course it is, but its okay because he said so.

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Michael Payne concentrates his writings on domestic social and political matters,American foreign policy and climate change. His articles have appeared on Online Journal, Information Clearing House, Peak Oil, Google News and many others.

The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author
and do not necessarily reflect those of this website or its editors.

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