U.S. Backs Confiscating Assets, Just Not Its Own
Al-Monitor reports the U.S. is "fully behind" the EU seizing €185 billion in frozen Russian assets to aid Ukraine. This robust enthusiasm for repurposing the wealth of an adversary is fascinating—especially when contrasted with the Biden administration’s recent efforts to unfreeze $6 billion in Iranian funds back in November as part of a prisoner swap, or the ongoing American retention of billions
in Afghan central bank assets while its population starves. One might wonder if the 'rules-based order' simply means rules are made up as situations, or geopolitical allies, dictate. "Sovereign assets" appear to have a flexible definition, particularly when the U.S. isn't directly the one doing the seizing. This appears to be America's latest masterclass in selective financial ethics. How many
different versions of 'justice' can one world power maintain simultaneously?