Have received a number of challenges and pushback to my equation of Putin's horrific Ukraine blunder with George W. Bush's Iraq one. Here’s my answer (forgive me: it’s a quiet morning) 1.
This isn’t a moral contest, which I wouldn’t begin to know how to measure. It’s not ethical math. One’s invasion is a narcissistic swing for history based on bad intel bullied out of nervous professionals. The other is what Putin is up to. 2
Both invasions were based on manipulated ignorance. Fwiw, Ukraine is next door to Russia. Iraq is halfway around the world from us. I emphasise geography because some still believe Bush was well intentioned while Putin is dark. I agree Putin is a war criminal.3
But if you consult a map, it should give you pause. Bush/Cheney got the system, including the media, to frame Iraq. My equivalence is about geopolitics. I don’t doubt Putin’s threat is existential & he must lose. If you’re a small country, you’ll feel Putin’s menace more keenly.4
If you’re informed person in a big country, you’ll agree. So why do I compare the two? Most of world isn’t imposing sanctions. Some of that’s pragmatic – China likes Russia as client state, India wants cheap energy & Russian mil supply, Latam doesn’t feel transatlantic tug 5
But a lot of it’s about west’s battered reputation. Iraq did immeasurable damage - worse than Vietnam. Took place at the peak of sympathy for post-9/11 US. World watched America squander that goodwill in a goose chase any 15-year-old Indian, African or European, knew was wild.6
The legacy of Iraq endures more virulently than most Americans know. Am regularly struck by how strongly it has imprinted itself around the world. Iraq denuded the west, including the UK, of something less easily replaceable than money or weapons – trust and credibility. 7
Same for other results of 9/11 (G’tmo, NSA, rendition etc) – am using Iraq as shorthand. Did US deliberately target civilians? No. Does Putin target hospitals? Yes. He’s more calculatedly brutal than anything west's done since colonialism (as an imperialist, it’s no coincidence)8
But he’s free of hypocrisy & owns being a killer. Doubt I’ll ever convince my less open-minded US & British friends the resentment others feel when we work ourselves into a moral lather & conveniently forget all the money we’ve made & blind eyes we’ve turned.9
Which is self-harming as it limits on our ability to bring others along when we need them to – when butchery is happening and everyone’s stability is in danger. On Ukraine, the US is in the right legal, political & moral position and Biden is a very good leader for this.10
But we can’t get too righteous with others for fence-sitting. The US has to make our case in continents that aren’t complying with sanctions because they’re cynical & fearful of western policy. We need to convince sceptics everywhere this time west’s logic can be trusted.11
A big chunk of distrust stems from Iraq – and related pathologies stemming from 9/11. The more America can see itself through the lens of other countries & cultures, the more it’ll be to bring them along at threatening existential moments like this. That’s diplomacy. 12
We rightly oppose Russia for its barbaric solipsism. Putin wasn’t even aware Ukrainians took pride in being Ukrainian! So he murders them. We should take the trouble to see how others see us. Since we need their support, it would be the minimally competent thing to do. End
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