Hypocrisy is a cornerstone of every big country’s foreign policy

A reader quite properly observes that Vladimir Putin’s attempted defence of Wikileaks’ Julian Assange is an act of hypocrisy. Indeed it is, but that should not be surprising. In fact, hypocrisy is the name of the game in world politics. Hypocrisy is, and always has been, a standard behaviour of politicians of all great powers. The bigger the power the more adept it is at using hypocrisy as an important component of its operations. Russia is one example, but the United States is no laggard either. A sophisticated vocabulary is developed to justify “our” actions and thoroughly condemn “their” similar actions.
Two quotes from the Vietnam War well illustrate the principle. The first, from an American general – “We had to destroy the village to save it” – is a special case of a more general principle – “We have to destroy [a country, an enterprise, etc] in order to save it [for our benefit]”. The other is Lyndon B Johnson’s proclamation that “Ngho Dinh Diem is the Churchill of Asia”. Translation: No tyrant, murderer, or corrupt strongman will be condemned as long as he [or she ?] is Our Guy.
Przemo Kranz
Bangkok