An article published by the British "Middle East Eye" website considered that the West sees the war waged by Russia on Ukraine as an opportunity to "clear its conscience" from the disaster of its invasion of Iraq in 2003 and restore the Western moral standing in the world.
The author of the article - Andrew Hammond, professor of Turkish history at Oxford University - explained that the hysterical coverage of the "Russian invasion of Ukraine" by the Western media sometimes reveals the need for the West to restore its moral standing in the past.
The article reviewed the atrocities and devastating violations committed by the West during the years of embargo and sanctions against Iraq (between 1990 and 2003) before the invasion led by the United States and Britain in 2003, and the use of torture on a large scale.
A blow to the allegations of the West
He argued that the 2003 invasion of Iraq was a serious blow to the West's ancient claims to be the global standard of civilization, which it used to justify shaping the modern world in its image, and to consolidate its continuing control over international political and financial institutions.
He added that the Iraq disaster was one of the factors that paved the way for the rise of a personality like Donald Trump, and Britain's departure from the European Union, which contributed to the loss of confidence of experienced voters in the ruling class.
He said that the Ukraine crisis that erupted recently forced the West to return to its spirit, only to find that it is alive after all.
Blinken visits Ukrainian refugees at the Ukrainian-Polish border crossing (Reuters)
Blinken atones for Powell's sins
The writer reviewed excerpts from what some Western politicians and writers have said about the West's discovery that it is still alive, such as what Corey Shack wrote about the Ukraine war re-emphasizing the universality of Western values, and what the writer Daniel Hannan said - in the newspaper "The Telegraph" (The Telegraph). British - that the Russian invasion was an "attack on civilization" in itself and a challenge to Western cultural hegemony, and what was announced by former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton of declaring a "state of emergency for democracy."
He added that the reputation of the US and British intelligence agencies, who told politicians what they wanted to invade Iraq, had rebounded.
In this regard, Hammond says that "US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken atones for the sins of his predecessor, Colin Powell, when Powell presented in the UN Security Council US evidence of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction before the 2003 invasion."
Previous deployment of US and Australian forces in Baghdad (Getty)
They avoid mentioning Iraq
However, chief speakers who want to see Ukraine turn into a graveyard for Putin's dreams have avoided mentioning Iraq, most notably former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who led Britain to the invasion.
David Froome, writer of Bush Jr.'s Axis of Evil speeches, limited his comments to the minute details of the financial sanctions, without referring to Iraq.
But Iraq - says Hammond - came in a revealing way during an interview with former US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who served as National Security Adviser during the US invasion of Iraq.
Rice stared shyly into the camera when the Fox TV host said invading a sovereign country was a war crime, to which Rice replied, "Well, it's definitely against every principle of international law and international order."
Western racism
However, unfortunately, any desire to "atone" has been spoiled by an equally massive outpouring of superiority and discrimination talk that only reminds the rest of the world of Western hypocrisy.
For example, CBS correspondent Charlie Dagata said that the crisis was horrific because the Ukrainians were "relatively civilized, relatively European", and that Ukraine "is not a place, with all due respect, like Iraq or Afghanistan,” while an article in The Wall Street Journal suggested that Russia had veered from the path of civilization toward its “Asian past.”