Anti-Americanism Is in Fashion

Anti-Americanism seems to be the talk of the moment for some. Russia, China and certain developing countries do not hold back when it comes to including anti-Americanism in their propaganda.

The formula is always the same: The United States is responsible for all evil.

Don’t even think about mentioning the incompetence and corruption of international leaders perpetrating evil. These conspiracy theorists quickly answer that the corruption comes solely from the United States, or that the Americans and their allies are scheming to keep incompetents and lackeys in power.

However, several countries — such as Singapore, Taiwan and Costa Rica — have managed to emerge from poverty and even become rich, whereas according to all the propagandists, they should have continued to suffer under the yoke of the wealthy nations.

The war in Ukraine has given anti-American propaganda a boost.

An Impossible Comparison

This propaganda attempts to minimize crimes by the Russian army by comparing this war with wars that the United States started.

The United States has waged some reprehensible wars in modern history, in particular against Vietnam and Iraq, but even in those conflicts, the U.S. government did not seek to annex territory. It did not systematically target civilian populations to win the war. Nor did it seek to destroy the culture of these people. It did not deny the right to exist in these countries. It did not steal children from these countries and try to convert them into Americans. It did not encourage the displacement of populations. These are the kind of war crimes Russia is committing in Ukraine. They are considered genocide under the definition set by the United Nations.

Not an American War

The other main thrust of Russian propaganda is to try to convince people the war in Ukraine is actually a war that the United States started.

Wrong. Ukraine was not about to join NATO. No one in NATO was threatening to invade Russia. Moreover, Ukraine had dismantled its nuclear bombs having been promised that Russia would respect its borders.

Does this mean that the United States is totally innocent? No. It did not help Russia enough when the Soviet Union fell and has never forgiven Vladimir Putin for nationalizing oil companies. However, you cannot blame the United States for supporting the Ukrainians who wanted to establish democracy and for helping them to replace the puppet leader that Putin sought to keep in power in their country. Defending a democracy, however imperfect, always trumps defending a dictatorship, however profitable it may be for its elite.

In fact, the war in Ukraine is the continuation of a long Russian genocidal enterprise that began in the 19th century, one that Joseph Stalin extended, and that Putin has now assumed.