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Two headlines today gave proof that insanity rules in western capitals.
US and allies to hit Russia with new sanctions as outrage over civilian killings grows
Yellen to Warn of ‘Enormous Economic Repercussions’ From Ukraine Invasion
"The Treasury secretary plans to highlight risks of rising food and energy prices at a congressional hearing on Wednesday."
But why -- oh why -- are there “risks of rising food and energy prices”? Did the risk just happen, like a passing cloud perhaps? No. The risk happened because of the sanctions.
Meanwhile, after White House eunuchs walked back Biden's call for regime change, another Biden Mumble walked back the walking back saying that that guy has got to go.
History is too important to be left to humans.
That the Russians have been brutal in their prosecution of wars is undeniable. Whether their brutality is any worse than that of others or than the sanitized techno-brutality of U.S. drone warfare, I leave to another day. War by nature is an exercise in tu quoque. The fact is that Russians have been and are capable of committing atrocities and, therefore, it is more than just possible that they murdered civilians in Bucha. On the other hand, the neatly placed boxes of Russian military rations next to some of the bodies is... well... just a little too neat for my skeptical mind.
As any lawyer can tell you, the fact of a dead body only begins the inquiry. It does not end it. The question remains as to how and why the body was killed. Was there a provocation? Was there a mistake? What was the intent? Was it an action ordered by superiors or was it a spontaneous rampage by enlisted men? In other words, was it a state action for which the state can be sanctioned or was it individual criminal behaviour for which the individuals in question should be punished.
During the last world war, all armies (except Russia) had “war crimes bureaus” whose task it was to investigate alleged and reported war crimes. The complaint would be relayed through a neutral conduit to either the Royal Navy or the Wehrmacht which would then launch an inquiry to look into the matter and issue a report either confirming or denying the claim. The idea was that, after the war, there would be a clearing of claims and repartations would be paid as appropriate. The parties were actually fairly decent about it. Sorry ol' chap. Our bad. See you in Geneva!
The point is that when an atrocity is alleged, the matter needs to be investigated, calmly and well. If a person wants to behave like a rational human being, he refrains from taking responsive action until the allegations are confirmed. Then, as a second step in rationality, he has to weigh the benefits and risks of the proposed retaliation. It is a fact of life that sometimes one cannot retaliate as one would like because the to do so would be too injurious to one's self or to another. In this situation, one is left biting one's lip.
But none of this matters in our ruling capitals. The matter is investigated in the press, with predictable outcomes. It reminds me of the notorious Kadaververwertungsanstalt. See? Look at the picture of those bodies in front of the factory!!! It's OBVIOUS. The Germans are using their own dead soldiers to make soap! Don't deny the facts! The Fiends! As if roasting babies on the spits of their bayonets wasn't bad enough!
Listen carefully to the way our leaders speak. They cry for sanctions and in the same breath refer to “mounting evidence” that “points to” and like phrases. Listen to NATO's Stoltenberg “And we have to gather all the detail so this can be an actual – have a war crimes trial.” In other words, they don't yet have “all the detail”... and without all the detail they can't possibly know if in fact a war crime was committed. They might have suspicions. The suspicions may be well founded. But -- where have we heard it before? -- “suspicion is not guilt.”
I am not denying that an atrocity took place. I am not defending it if it did. I simply do not have all the facts and I am not willing to rely on a press that sensationalizes everything or on a Ukrainian government that is not an “unbiased” observer and that has an obvious interest in creating atrocity propaganda. Of course, Russia denies and attempts to sow doubt. But the fact that Russia sows it does not mean that doubt is not a good thing to start off with. Judiciousness begins with skepticism.
All I am saying is that before our leaders run off half-cocked and impose yet further sanctions which will hurt ordinary working people around the world more than they hurt Putin, they ought at least be forced into cold showers in order to temper their inflamed minds.
Is that too much to ask?
