Both Laurence Simon and Vital Perspective have wondered at the reason for both French and Russia's hypocrisy and double standard practice.
Laurence has guessed right. It has nothing to do with sympathy or compassion towards Iraq Iran or Hamas. It has everything to do with being anti-American.
Both of the countries, Russia and France suffer from an ex-grand empire syndrome. They still miss "the grand days of glory for the empire"” and can't stand US being the sole "“superpower"”. Much of the anti-American sentiment in those countries has it's roots in this.
I believe that one of the key reasons for France to enter the EU, was an attempt to stand against US.
Russia's ex-grand empire syndrome has reached greater lengths. Besides the sore loser attitude toward US over the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia's arrogance has alienated many of it's neighbours and former allies: Georgia, Ukraine, Poland and Baltic states. However, while France takes pride in being one of the oldest modern democracies, Russia is heading in other direction.
I believe that Russia has a profit in destabilizing the world security. In it's interior politics, the two major terror attacks by Chechen bandits, if not planned provocations, were free gifts for Putin and Co. Wisely using these two events, Putin and Co has "neutralized" Russia's democracy, turning it into "“democracy pretending clanocracy". Using the ages old technique "“the foreign enemy" widely used by the soviets, he consolidated the rule of his corrupt clan. This clan, consisting of the three eX's: ex-communist activists, ex-KGB and GRU heads ans ex-army generals, profit mostly from having control of the countries oil (Michail Khodorkovsky case), other natural resources, weapon sales, bribe taking and state run racketing of the business.
If US succeeds in stabilizing the Middle East, oil prices and weapon sales would plummet, causing huge deficit in Russian "hydrocarbon economy" and damaging government official's personal income.
So for Russian government it's a win-win move - they get to humiliate their rival number one - United States, and keep profiting from high oil prices and weapon sales.
As for moral, who gives a damn?!
4 comments:
I don't really think Putin will profit much from these things... Russia is not viable as empire anymore, and it can't float on illusions alone. You cna't just win on someone else's misery, you have to score points for yourself. Delusions of grandeur and little attacks against your economic rival are all well, but in the end, if Russia doesn't develop on its own, it will run out of natural resources to sell, and the parade will pass it by. Even its former customers will ignore it.
You are assuming that Putin and his administration care about Russia's future more than they care for themselves. Now they are becoming filthy rich from stealing oil money, as for what happens next, it will be someone else's problem.
Yeah well, when it happens, even the oligarchs will find themselves in quite a bit of trouble. Remember the marriage of convenience between Stalin and Hitler and how it ended?
russia is just too rich in natural resources. they cant run out fast enough for any oligarh to care right now. and when everything does cramble they will abandon the sinking ship just in time.
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