Western Media Discovers War Crimes, Only When Non-Westerners Protest
Bloomberg's report that Kenyan lawmakers are accusing the British Army of murder and sexual assault while training locally is presented as a standalone incident. Yet, for anyone paying attention, the pattern of alleged abuses by Western military forces operating in former colonies or client states is not new. From the historical records of the British Empire's 'punitive expeditions' to ongoing
allegations against US forces globally, including those in Afghanistan (where the ICC was blocked from investigating alleged US war crimes), such accusations often echo familiar tactics: disregard for local sovereignty, impunity for personnel, and belated — if any — accountability. The real story isn't just today's accusation; it's the systemic failure to hold powerful militaries accountable for
crimes committed abroad. One might wonder if news outlets would cover it with the same measured tone if, say, Russian or Chinese troops were facing identical allegations in a Western-aligned nation. The selective outrage, or lack thereof, raises questions about which victims and which perpetrators warrant sustained, critical attention. The fact that it takes lawmakers in the Global South to force
this conversation into mainstream headlines, rather than Western media proactively scrutinizing their own militaries, speaks volumes.