The United States charged four members of the Russian military with war crimes on Wednesday for the abduction and torture of an American citizen in Ukraine.
Whataboutism or whataboutery (as in “what about…?”) denotes in a pejorative sense a procedure in which a critical question or argument is not answered or discussed, but retorted with a critical counter-question which expresses a counter-accusation. From a logical and argumentative point of view it is considered a variant of the tu-quoque pattern (Latin ‘you too’, term for a counter-accusation), which is a subtype of the ad-hominem argument. … the tactic was “an old Soviet trick”. … “Kremlinologists of recent years call this ‘whataboutism’ because the Kremlin’s various mouthpieces deployed the technique so exhaustively against the U.S.” … Russian whataboutism was “part of the national psyche”. … “Moscow’s geopolitical whataboutism skills are unmatched”
It’s important to self regulate and prosecute wrong doing of your own people, but justice requires accountability to your accusers, those wronged. Ideally, these work in concert.
The point is America does not care about international criminal courts, so they have no business trying to use them for Russian war criminals.
If Russia tried its own soldiers for war crimes, you would rightly think they will probably go easy on them and won’t be a fiar trial with proper justice as it’s motive.
Key-point here being “if”, because Russia would never try their own soldiers. Apart from desertion of course, though I believe they’d rather execute those.
Lmao the hypocrisy. How many US soldiers have been tried for the torture they committed.
e: so when Russia accuses Ukraine of war crimes, you guys take that very seriously right? Because to do otherwise would be whattaboutism, right.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whataboutism
Calling out hypocrisy is not the same as whattaboutism.
idk if that counts: Former Commander of Naval Station Guantanamo Bay Sentenced to Prison US soldier jailed for seven years over murders of Afghan civilians American found guilty of torture in Iraq
It’s important to self regulate and prosecute wrong doing of your own people, but justice requires accountability to your accusers, those wronged. Ideally, these work in concert.
The point is America does not care about international criminal courts, so they have no business trying to use them for Russian war criminals.
If Russia tried its own soldiers for war crimes, you would rightly think they will probably go easy on them and won’t be a fiar trial with proper justice as it’s motive.
Key-point here being “if”, because Russia would never try their own soldiers. Apart from desertion of course, though I believe they’d rather execute those.
Fear point