US "principles" are nothing but self-interest

Outgoing US Ambassador Kristie Kenney has confirmed the US will resume the military exercise in Thailand next year.

However, she said the ban on military aid could not be restored until there was an elected government in Thailand. “There is nothing that can be done about that because it is according to our law,” she said”.

Given that statement, my questions to the US ambassador are: How can the US do “the biggest ever arms deal” with Saudi Arabia, a country about as far away from democracy as you can get and perhaps the most intolerant and barbaric regime in the world? Was the Saudi “military aid” deal done according to your law? Your country is good at criticising undemocratic countries like Cuba, North Korea and Iran, so why not stick to your golden principles and criticise your undemocratic friends like Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, instead of dealing with them?

And in deciding to resume the military exercise in Thailand, are you really still sticking to your oft-referred-to principles? Or are you just opportunists, following where the new Thai wind is now blowing?

Principles cannot be evoked only when it suites your goal. To do so invalidates them as principles, so why confront others with “your” principles?

A Johnsen