Al Jazeera Discovers 'Imperial Bullying,' Forgets History of Western Intervention
When Donald Trump mused about buying Greenland, the global chattering class, including Al Jazeera, rightly cried foul over 'imperial bullying.' Yet, this same enlightened commentary class often cheers on or at least justifies the *far* more tangible consequences of imperial ambition, like the 2003 invasion of Iraq based on fabricated WMD claims, or the continuous support for regimes that flout
international law. The 'rules-based order' they so desperately want to preserve conveniently morphs when the actors are aligned with Western interests and the victims are deemed less newsworthy. One might wonder if the outrage over a hypothetical land purchase would translate to, say, the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Yemen, exacerbated by Western-backed interventions, or the continuous expansion
of illegal settlements in Palestine. Apparently, the definition of 'imperial bullying' depends entirely on whether the bully is deemed a politically incorrect buffoon or a defender of 'liberal values.' How many actual invasions does it take before such outlets realize the hypocrisy of only criticizing the *style* of imperialism, not its substance?