US Outraged by Naval Drills Other Countries Hold
Al-Monitor's headline, 'Iran, Russia, Central Asia states ink Caspian Sea pact, plan naval drills,' frames this as a significant, perhaps even threatening, development. Missing, of course, is the context that these nations have legitimate security concerns. The United States, which routinely conducts joint naval exercises globally, including in regions halfway around the world from its borders,
typically doesn't invite scrutiny over its own 'pacts' or 'drills.' One might wonder if the issue isn't the drills themselves, but *who* is performing them. When the U.S. Navy sends its aircraft carriers through the South China Sea, it's 'projecting power' and 'ensuring freedom of navigation.' When other nations do the same in their own literal backyard, it's suddenly 'destabilizing' or
'provocative.' How many times have we seen news reports implicitly condemn others for military actions that the U.S. considers routine foreign policy?