{"id":617377,"date":"2024-04-18T22:30:00","date_gmt":"2024-04-18T19:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/western-powers-shot-down-iranian-missiles-why-not-russian-missiles\/"},"modified":"2024-04-18T22:30:00","modified_gmt":"2024-04-18T19:30:00","slug":"western-powers-shot-down-iranian-missiles-why-not-russian-missiles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/western-powers-shot-down-iranian-missiles-why-not-russian-missiles\/","title":{"rendered":"#Western powers shot down Iranian missiles. Why not Russian missiles?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p>            <iframe title=\"Audio Article\" id=\"instaread_iframe\" name=\"instaread_playlist\" scrolling=\"no\" allow=\"autoplay\" style=\"display:block\" width=\"100%\" height=\"100%\" frameborder=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Ukrainians are <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/censor.net\/ua\/blogs\/3484450\/realpolitik\">asking<\/a> an indelicate question: Why has the West reacted with near-unanimous indignation to Iran\u2019s missile attack against Israel, im<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">media<\/a>tely expressing a willingness to protect its population against further attacks, while failing to help Ukraine protect itself against daily Russian bombardments of its people, cities and infrastructure?<\/p>\n<p>Or as the Wall Street Journal <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/world\/u-s-defense-of-israels-skies-sparks-ukrainian-envy-and-ire-846681c4?mod=Searchresults_pos1&amp;page=1\">put it<\/a>: \u201cUkraine\u2019s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed frustration after the U.S. and its allies swooped in to defend Israel against a massive Iranian attack over the weekend, highlighting the limits of Western support for Kyiv. Ukrainian cities have been under fire for more than two years from Russian missiles and explosive-laden drones of the same type used in Tehran\u2019s attack on Israel.\u201d<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr1_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>Isn\u2019t this a question of double standards, perhaps even of hypocrisy? Yevgeni Kiselev, a leading Russian journalist, asked me that question in <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=ezwylVhNfK4\">an interview<\/a> on April 15.<\/p>\n<p>The Ukrainians have a point, as a comparison of Ukraine\u2019s and Israel\u2019s relative objective importance, on their own terms and to the West, makes clear.<\/p>\n<p>Start with the obvious. Both nations consist of human beings, and it would be obscene to suggest that either nation matters more, and therefore deserves to live, while the other does not. That Ukrainians outnumber Israelis doesn\u2019t change that fact. Neither country \u201cwins\u201d the human rights comparison.<\/p>\n<p>Let\u2019s move on to national traumas. Some still-living Israelis survived the Holocaust, while the rest know of it from texts and survivor accounts. All Israelis were the targets of Hamas\u2019s genocidal attack. Some still-living Ukrainians survived the <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/cla.umn.edu\/chgs\/holocaust-genocide-education\/resource-guides\/holodomor\">Holodomor<\/a>, but all Ukrainians are now the targets of Putin\u2019s genocidal campaign to eliminate them as a nation and as a people. Both countries have been traumatized by their genocides. No one \u201cwins,\u201d so call it even.<\/p>\n<p>Ukraine\u2019s prewar GDP was smaller than Israel\u2019s, as was its trade with the United States and the European Union. That said, neither country has the clout to affect the global economy, the EU economy or the U.S. economy to any significant degree. Give Israel a slight advantage.<\/p>\n<p>Both countries make roughly equal contributions to Western security. Ukraine has debilitated Russia\u2019s armed forces and blunted Putin\u2019s imperialist drive, thereby serving as a buffer between the West and Russia. Israel stands as a bulwark against terrorism and Iran. Call it a wash.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr2_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>On the other hand, Ukraine\u2019s existence is more important than Israel to Europe\u2019s and America\u2019s existence. If Ukraine dis<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>ears, Europe would face an emboldened Russia, and the U.S. would very likely get involved in World War III. If Israel disappears, instability would result, but it would be confined to the Middle East. A slight advantage to Ukraine.<\/p>\n<p>The comparison suggests that Ukraine should objectively matter as much as Israel to the West \u2014 but it obviously doesn\u2019t. Which brings us back to the original question: why?<\/p>\n<p>The reason has little to do with Ukraine and Israel and their objective positions within the world of human rights, national interests or global geopolitics. Instead, it\u2019s all about subjective perceptions.<\/p>\n<p>The Holocaust has become the paramount symbol of inhumanity in Western memory and discourse; the Holodomor has not, even though its victims number at least 4 million and its annual \u201ckill rate\u201d \u2014 8 million \u2014 far exceeded that of the Holocaust. As a result, the U.S. and Germany have made Israel their foreign policy priority: both want to prevent another Holocaust, even if that means occasionally disagreeing with the policies of the Israeli government.<\/p>\n<p>Subjective perceptions of Ukraine\u2019s existential enemy, Russia, and Israel\u2019s, Islamist extremism, also matter. Few in the West regard Hamas, Hezbollah and other terrorist organizations with admiration or toleration. There is broad agreement that they are a menace that needs to be dealt with severely.<\/p>\n<p>Contrast that attitude with many Western views of Russia and Putin. They were, and often still remain, the darlings of such influential individuals as Tucker Carlson, Donald Trump, France\u2019s Marine Le Pen, Germany\u2019s Gerhard Schr\u00f6der, Austria\u2019s Karin Kneissl, Hungary\u2019s Viktor Orb\u00e1n and Slovakia\u2019s Robert Fico. While radical Islamist values appeal to few in the West, Putin\u2019s \u201cfamily values\u201d and his strong-arm rule evidently appeal to many.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr3_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>In short, Ukraine\u2019s traumas matter less than Israel\u2019s to the West, and Putin is admired more than Hamas by the West. Objectively, as Ukrainians insist, that stance bespeaks a moral and geopolitical double standard. All genocides are horrific, regardless of who is their victim, and Putin is no less of a terrorist than Hamas.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"600\" height=\"121\" src=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/11\/op2.png?w=600\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-4329764\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/11\/op2.png?resize=600,121 600w, https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/11\/op2.png?resize=300,61 300w, https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/11\/op2.png?resize=50,10 50w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 899px) 100vw, 600px\"><\/figure>\n<p>That may be true, but it\u2019s also irrelevant. The moral is simple: Perceptions and values can trump objective realities, even in the impeccably rational, post-religious and highly enlightened West, which pretends otherwise.<\/p>\n<p>Western policymakers would do well to remember this when they encourage Ukrainians to negotiate with the man who has made no secret of his desire to annihilate them.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr4_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.newark.rutgers.edu\/about-us\/have-you-met-rutgers-newark\/alexander-motyl\"><em>Alexander J. Motyl<\/em><\/a><em>\u00a0is a professor of political <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/sciencee\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"5\" title=\"Science\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">science<\/a> at Rutgers University-Newark. A specialist on Ukraine, Russia and the USSR, and on nationalism, revolutions, empires and theory, he is the author of 10 books of nonfiction, as well as \u201c<\/em><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/cup.columbia.edu\/book\/imperial-ends\/9780231121101\"><em>Imperial Ends<\/em><\/a><em>: The Decay, Collapse, and Revival of Empires\u201d and \u201c<\/em><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.jstor.org\/stable\/422141\"><em>Why Empires Reemerge<\/em><\/a><em>: Imperial Collapse and Imperial Revival in Comparative Perspective.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMN63nwsw68G3Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News<\/a> articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/opinion\/international\/4602838-western-powers-shot-down-iranian-missiles-why-not-russian-missiles\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ukrainians are asking an indelicate question: Why has the West reacted with near-unanimous indignation to Iran\u2019s missile attack against Israel, immediately expressing a willingness to protect its population against further attacks, while failing to help Ukraine protect itself against daily Russian bombardments of its people, cities and infrastructure? Or as the Wall Street Journal put&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":617378,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/04\/GettyImages-2147687663.jpg?w=1280","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[70897],"tags":[134343,134353,10574,10595,103820,90482,124783,70984,2184,83639,4947,4975,70289,70868,73234],"class_list":["post-617377","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-campaign","tag-court-battles","tag-education","tag-environment","tag-hamas","tag-house","tag-international","tag-iran","tag-israel","tag-missiles","tag-opinion","tag-russia","tag-senate","tag-ukraine","tag-vladimir-putin"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/617377","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=617377"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/617377\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/617378"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=617377"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=617377"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=617377"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}