The Dangers of American Exceptionalism: President Vladimir Putin Urges the U.S. not to Launch an Attack on Syria
‘It is extremely dangerous to encourage American people to see themselves as exceptional’ – Putin
The New York Times on Wednesday published a column by Vladimir Putin in which the Russian president urged the United States not to launch an attack on Syria.
“My working and personal relationship with President Obama is marked by growing trust. I appreciate this. I carefully studied his address to the nation on Tuesday. And I would rather disagree with a case he made on American exceptionalism, stating that the United States’ policy is “what makes America different. It’s what makes us exceptional.”
It is extremely dangerous to encourage people to see themselves as exceptional, whatever the motivation. There are big countries and small countries, rich and poor, those with long democratic traditions and those still finding their way to democracy. Their policies differ, too. We are all different, but when we ask for the Lord’s blessings, we must not forget that God created us equal,” – Putin writes.
Putin underlines that military intervention in internal conflicts of other countries has become commonplace for US. “Is it in America’s long-term interest? I doubt it. Millions around the world increasingly see America not as a model of democracy but as relying solely on brute force, cobbling coalitions together under the slogan “you’re either with us or against us.”
The New York Times has published an op-ed article written by Russian president Vladimir Putin titled, ‘A plea for caution from Russia’. Putin has called for Washington to pursue diplomacy rather than use force.
“No one doubts that poison gas was used in Syria. But there is every reason to believe it was used not by the Syrian Army, but by opposition forces, to provoke intervention by their powerful foreign patrons, who would be siding with the fundamentalists. Reports that militants are preparing another attack — this time against Israel — cannot be ignored.”
“The potential strike by the United States against Syria, despite strong opposition from many countries and major political and religious leaders, including the pope, will result in more innocent victims and escalation, potentially spreading the conflict far beyond Syria’s borders. A strike would increase violence and unleash a new wave of terrorism. It could undermine multilateral efforts to resolve the Iranian nuclear problem and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and further destabilize the Middle East and North Africa. It could throw the entire system of international law and order out of balance.”
Putin calls for the use the United Nations Security Council as “one of the few ways to keep international relations from sliding into chaos.”
