It’s just amazing how Americans are able to act as if the war in Iraq did not happen.
On Feb. 20, New York Times columnist David French wrote, “If Russia defeats Ukraine, a dangerous precedent will be set. Nuclear-armed powers will prove they can invade smaller foes and then rattle the nuclear saber to deter an effective response, creating a one-way ratchet toward territorial aggression.”
Was French born yesterday? The U.S. set the precedent in 2003: a nuclear-armed power proving it could invade a smaller “foe,” and there was no need to rattle the nuclear saber to deter an effective response because no one was going to help poor Muslim Iraqis going up against the U.S. anyway. This created the one-way ratchet toward territorial aggression that likely inspired Russian President Vladimir Putin to try to steal Ukraine.
What does French think Iraq was? His point was beyond ridiculous. He had it backward, conveniently forgetting about the United States’ criminal attack upon Iraq and that the U.S. is still occupying Iraq.
The U.S. set the dangerous precedent for nuclear-armed powers invading smaller nations, and Putin used the same blueprint. How does a columnist for the New York Times get away with writing such nonsense?
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Frank Erickson
Minneapolis
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