Reply to Cap

 It was supposed to be a comment repy but it was too long.  Here it is ...

Cap,

Many people see the ICC as an imperialist institution.  (I agree with it in principle but some of its critics do have a point.)

https://www.counterpunch.org/2023/07/13/from-icc-to-sportswashing-wests-self-serving-narratives-must-be-combated/

"'In March, the South Africa Communist Party (SACP) denounced what it described as the ‘imperialist bias’ of the International Criminal Court (ICC).

The denunciation of the ICC as a “supranational institution at the service of imperialist states' came two days after the Hague-based court issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin and another Russian official for alleged war crimes in Ukraine.

The speed with which the case against Putin was lodged, discussed and followed by concrete action raised many questions about the integrity, balance and political agenda of the Western-inclined court.

While Palestinians immediately, and rightly, protested the hypocrisy of the ICC as it continues to treat alleged Israeli war criminals with kid gloves, Iraqis, Afghans, but mostly African activists and intellectuals found the ICC’s moral inconsistency reprehensible.

In the 21 years of its existence, “the ICC has not issued a single warrant of arrest for or prosecuted any United States or European president, prime minister or monarch as head of state,” protested Africa’s oldest communist party, echoing the cries of numerous organizations, politicians and activists who, for years, pointed out that Africa has received the lion’s share of ICC investigations and arrest warrants.

Indeed, since its existence in 2002, the ICC has been 'fixated' on Africa. As of June 2021, “all 44 people indicted by the Court have been Africans,” wrote Qumar Ba in Foreign Affairs, and 'ten out of its 14 active investigations involve Africa.'

This argument is not intended as a blanket defense of Africa. Many alleged war crimes have been committed on the African continent – in fact, in other regions in the Global South – many of which are associated with old and new civil wars, mass scale governments’ repression and violent crackdowns.

But why should Africa be the exception, when numerous and, at times, even more, alleged grisly war crimes and crimes against humanity were affiliated with Western governments? "

The USA has been happy to use the ICC as a weapon to bludgeon its opponents with, while remaining outside its jurisdiction by not being a signatory.

Which also means that Trump had no legal obligation to arrest Putin while he was on US soil.

The ICC's case against Putin has been critiqued by others very harshly.  To whit; the claim that Putin has kidnapped Ukrainian children and subjected them to Russification/indoctrination is false.  What actually happened is that ethnic Russians in the separatist provinces voluntarily sent their children to free camps in Russia, away from the war zone, with their stays apparently being around two weeks.  Some of these camps were apparently music camps for musically inclined children.

The following link takes you to an article that quotes from the author of the report on which the ICC case is based upon.

https://thegrayzone.com/2023/03/31/iccs-putin-arrest-state-dept-report/

When South Africa brought its case against Israel to the ICC, the USA was outraged.  But it's Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan understood that if he gave Israel a pass, then the credibility of the Court would be mortally wounded.

I think that your quote from TASS is supposed to explain to me that Putin has benefited from the warm welcome he received from Trump.

The point of my original post was probably weakened by my failing to mention that Putin isn't an international pariah.  BRICS is growing.  Putin remains friendly with China, India, Iran, South Africa, Brazil, Nicaragua, Cuba, and others.

The following link has a pretty good map:

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/2/16/mapping-where-every-country-stands-on-the-russia-ukraine-war

I wonder what that map would look like if you removed some of the puppet-dictatorships that have followed the US lead in South America and Africa?

Besides not being an international pariah, I took issue with the arrogance and narcissism and stupidity of imagining that the be-all and end-all of international politics is whether "The West" likes you or not.

"The West" is perpetrating a deliberate genocide in Palestine and the countries with "The West" are intensely hated by many of the peoples of the world.

It is the CBC's stupid narcissism that I was objecting to.

"Even if Trump stops arms deliveries to Ukraine, denying US arms makers billions in profits, I'd love to hear your reason for believing that EU countries are less capable than Russia."

I don't quite understand this question.

This link shows the proportions of global arms exports by country.

https://www.statista.com/chart/18417/global-weapons-exports/

The USA, France, and Russia account for 61.5% of total arms exports.

Are we to imagine that the remaining countries that together comprise 16% of world arms exports can step in and replace the USA's aid to Ukraine?

It's long been understood that Ukraine faces a shortage of artillery and, increasingly, anti-air defence.

France exports fighter jets.  That's probably a big part of their overall exports.  I imagine that the UK and Germany also sell some big-ticket items that comprise the bulk of their export dollars.

This link discusses the issue:

https://www.voanews.com/a/can-europe-arm-ukraine-now-that-us-has-halted-military-aid-/7998393.html

"Can Europe make up for the shortfall of military aid from the U.S.?

'There is a sharp limit to what Europe can do,' said Mark Galeotti, executive director of the consultancy Mayak Intelligence and the author of 'Forged in War,' a military history of Russia.

'There are certain systems, ranging from Patriot missiles all the way through to spare parts for the Abrams tanks and Bradley personnel carriers, that the Ukrainians are using, that the only way the Europeans can get [them] is by buying them on the open market. And that is going to take time,' Galeotti told VOA, adding that some weapons systems ordered on the open market in 2022 were arriving only now in Ukraine."

You mention that Russia has been fighting for 3 years and still hasn't defeated Ukraine.

First of all: That's true.  What does that fact say about hysterical claims of Russia conquering all of Eastern Europe???

Secondly: Ukraine had the biggest army in Europe and was trained and armed to the teeth by NATO.  That army was virtually wiped-out and a second army was raised.  That army has also been almost completely wiped-out.

This is a 21st Century battlefield against peer technologies.  Drones are everywhere, on both sides.  Armies cannot easily gather in large numbers for a big PUSH as was the case in WW2.  Because now they can be seen by satellites and attacked by long-range missiles and drones.

Of course this has been difficult for Russia.

It is a grinding war of attrition.  But Russia is bigger than Ukraine and it is evident from Ukraine Armed Forces complaints that they are running out of men and material.

"Being able to grind another country's military into the dust is in any case no guarantee of victory, as the Soviets, as well as the US and its allies, found out in Afghanistan."

That's true.  But I don't think it's the point you wanted to make.  In Afghanistan, the USA armed and funded a reactionary, fundamentalist, misogynist jihad against a Russian allied government, in order to provide Russia with its own "Vietnam."  To weaken Russia.

Who cares that Afghanistan was plunged into decades of chaos and trauma?

It's the same thing in Ukraine.  Let us not forget the rise of Banderites in the Ukrainian military and society.  Unrepentant, WW2-style, NAZIS.  Being used as the USA's cat's paw to, again, weaken Russia.

If the Russian army defeats the Ukrainian army, the USA could sponsor terrorist elements indefinitely to continue to harass Russia regardless of the continued devastation of Ukraine.

You can read my blog to hear my thoughts about Putin, the origins of this war, the progress of the fighting.

If you disagree with me I'd be more than happy to have a respectful debate on it.