A case of the pot calling the kettle black?

Byline: Stefanos Evripidou

IT'S back to business this week, so let's take a look at what's going on in the world.

We've had the usual sprinkling of Death and Deception, copious offerings of Hypocrisy, and a sacrificial lamb called Freedom and Integrity. But before I start, those of you hoping for an overview of the financial crisis, better refer to Goldman Sachs, they seem to know something the rest of us don't.

But, let's stick to the light stuff, the big 'H'. As you all know, the Russian invasion of Georgia last month, after a US-backed Georgian attack on the breakaway province of South Ossetia, brought home the prospect of a new Cold War. And how we love a good sequel.

Last Thursday, US Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, gave her most stinging attack against Kremlin policies, adding a little morality to her geopolitical analysis.

In her words: "Russia's intimidation of its sovereign neighbours, its use of oil and gas as a political weapon, its unilateral suspension of the CFE (Conventional Forces in Europe) Treaty, its threat to target peaceful nations with nuclear weapons, its arms sales to states and groups that threaten international security, and its persecution -- and worse -- of Russian journalists and dissidents and others.

"The picture emerging from this pattern of behaviour is that of a Russia increasingly authoritarian at home and aggressive abroad."

I'm no Russian apologist -- or any state apologist for that matter. States are run by people. Those people need to be held accountable or else they vanish in the mist with their hands still on the wheel. And post-crash, we are reminded of Cher singing: "If I could turn back time..."

I don't deny that Russia may have done some or all of the things that Condi accuses it of, but how stupid does she think we really are actually listing them like that? Seeing as she represents the free world, we owe it to her more than others to take a closer look at her accusations, one by one:

Intimidating sovereign neighbours: a brief study of US involvement in South and Central America gives us plenty of food for thought. More specifically, try looking at Cuba, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Panama and Venezuela.

Use of oil and gas as a political weapon: Energy policy (or needs) has become one of the key factors in determining US geopolitical strategy. Hence, the huge US oil reserves currently sitting in Iraq.

Unilateral suspension of the CFE Treaty: June 13, 2002, Bush officially withdraws from the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile treaty with Russia, arguing that the treaty hindered US ability to defend its people against attack by terrorists and rogue states.

The threat to target peaceful nations with nuclear weapons: a reference to Russia's threat against Poland during the Georgian crisis, after the EU member rushed to secure a US missile base on its land. Meanwhile, the Bush administration continues to stress that all options are on the table, including nuclear ones, regarding a potential attack on Iran over its nuclear programme. A similar threat was not made to other countries that developed nuclear capacity outside of the Non-Proliferation treaty.

Arms sales to states and groups that threaten international security: This one really gives me cramp. The US is the biggest arms dealer in the world and has been threatening international peace and security for years with its military exports to states like Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Israel, as well as providing arms and training to groups and governments in Vietnam, Afghanistan, Angola and more. It's no secret were Osama bin Laden and the Afghan mujahideen got their lunch money from in the 1980s.

And its persecution -- and worse -- of Russian journalists and dissidents and others: it is a fact that Russian journalists are getting shot and killed while the probing role of the press has not been able to take hold in the post-Soviet Union space. Agreed. But Ms Secretary of State, how free is America post-9/11?

During the Republican National Convention in Saint Paul, Minnesota earlier this month, a number of journalists were arrested and manhandled while reporting on protests taking place outside the convention centre. Three of those journalists were from Democracy Now!, including the well-respected Amy Goodman.

Police used pepper spray, rubber bullets, concussion grenades and brute force against both protesters and reporters. The reporters faced charges of rioting and misdemeanour. Videos of the violent arrests are available on YouTube.

When asked if a journalist had been detained on September 1, the Saint Paul police spokesman said 53 people had been taken into custody, maybe including a journalist.

"Each of those people has been involved in some criminal activity, so I guess you can draw your own conclusions from that. We don't believe that this person was simply a non-participant or a reporter of the incident," he said.

It seems the mayor of Saint Paul was less sure, as he announced last Friday that the city would not prosecute the journalists for being present at an unlawful assembly during the Republican National Convention.

Going back to the criticism directed against Russia, Rice was asked by journalists whether she was not dabbling in a little hypocrisy, given her administration's own invasion of Iraq. This was her response:

"If you look at an Iraq that will not seek weapons of mass destruction like the Saddam Hussein regime, that will live in peace and security with its neighbours and that will give its own people a chance for democratic governance, I don't think that that bears any resemblance to invading a small democratic neighbour whose only crime apparently was that it wished to be a part of the emerging transatlantic world."

Of course, this neatly ignores Georgia's initial aggression in South Ossetia, as well as the huge difference in the number of deaths in the Caucasus conflict when compared to the hundreds of thousands of Iraqis that have died since the invasion.

So, that's where we stand on Hypocrisy this month. I could delve a little into Death and Deception in Afghanistan where 90 civilians were killed by US forces, or in Iraq where a family was killed in crossfire, or even Pakistan where 21 people, including women and children, were killed by a US missile strike, but I think it might be too much for a Sunday morning.

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