I mean, I get the whole “down with western hegemony” thing. I really do. But what comes next is going to be so much worse, folks. /1
Look at these men. Do you think either of them has any illusion about the game they’re playing? Not for a second. They just assume our leaders play it too. /2
My point is not that western leaders don’t murder, don’t start wars, don’t do all kinds of nefarious things. They do. This isn’t about our leaders being better than theirs, because often they’re not. /3
It’s about our systems being ever so slightly better than theirs. Why? Because our systems have at least some consequences. /4
Nothing stopped Bush, Blair et al from going to war in Iraq. But eventually - way too late - they brought those wars to an end. Why? Because we didn’t give them a choice. /5
What pressure is Putin ever going to face from the Russian public to stop the killing in Syria (or Salisbury), when he controls all the tv channels and every party in parliament? /6
What pressure are MBS’s subjects ever going to bring to bear to end the massacre of the Yemeni people? /7
Our leaders aren’t angels, but as long as we hold onto the democratic franchise and our own consciences they don’t _have_ to be. /8
A world in which democratic states abdicate global power is a world where violence will most often be done by those who are least likely to face consequences. /END
