Matt Johnson

*This article was originally published in The Topeka Capital-Journal, August 28, 2016. 

Remember when Russian President Vladimir Putin wrote a sanctimonious rant about U.S. foreign policy for The New York Times?

“A Plea for Caution from Russia” was a manifesto against American exceptionalism, unilateralism and “military intervention in internal conflicts in foreign countries.” In it, Putin presented Russia as a staunch defender of international law, courageously standing between the bulldozer of reckless American interventionism and Damascus. He chided the U.S. for using the “language of force” and implored us to “return to the path of civilized diplomatic and political settlement.” He warned that a U.S. strike would “result in more innocent victims and escalation.” And he worried about the possible dissolution of international order “if influential countries bypass the United Nations and take military action without Security Council authorization.”

A few months later, Russia bypassed the United Nations by taking military action to annex the Crimea without Security Council authorization. But we’ll set that aside for the moment.

If there was any doubt that Putin’s “plea” for restraint in Syria was cynical propaganda, the past year has conclusively and bloodily dispelled it.

Read the full article in The Topeka Capital-Journal.