(and other misleading things)
Biden Did It
I was discussing the impeachment and removal of President Donald Trump the other day. One of the participants argued that Biden did the exact thing Trump did: use American funds to try to leverage a Ukrainian government decision. We went down “into the weeds” of what Biden did back in 2016, as opposed to what the President did last summer. Ultimately, the argument faded out: neither side would accept the other sides “facts”.
To be clear, Vice President Biden was representing US, NATO and EU policy when he told the Ukrainian government that we would withhold aid unless Prosecutor Viktor Shokin was removed. Shokin was uninterested in prosecuting corruption, particularly by the Russian backed Ukrainian oligarchs.
We will soon hear from Trump’s “personal lawyer” Rudy Giuliani with accusations of Biden corruption. Those charges begin with a Shokin deposition. It shouldn’t be a surprise that a Russian backed former Ukrainian Prosecutor would be opposed to the Democrat.
President Trump, on the other hand, was actually (as opposed to threatening) holding congressionally mandated funds for Ukrainian defense. And he and his “team” made it clear to the current Ukrainian government that they would have to announce investigations of Biden and Crowd Strike to get the money. The announcement alone would provide more “Trump cannon fodder” for the 2020 campaign. There was no US government policy or interest being furthered, just the personal ambitions of the President.
So, while the two actions seem to be similar, in reality, they are completely different. And that’s the definition of a “false equivalency”. We’ve heard a lot about those lately.
Baghdad
This week an angry riot began outside of the US Embassy in Baghdad. The rioters were protesting a US attack on an Iraqi militant group. The group had earlier killed an American citizen. The rioters tried to “take” the embassy, and penetrated through the first layer of the multiple Embassy defenses. President Trump ordered additional US Marine reinforcements in, and within hours those Marines from Kuwait were landing in the Embassy courtyard.
More Marines or not, the Iraqi government finally helped to remove the protestors. They made an agreement with the militant group to reevaluate US military presence in Iraq.
President Trump made the right decisions in this crisis. The Embassy staff hunkered down in the heavily defended core, and the multiple lines of defense in the most strongly defended US Embassy in the world held. As the crisis seemed to escalate, the President called in resources to reinforce the existing Marine guards.
Just Like Benghazi
Trump supporters have taken this success, and tried to draw a parallel with the Benghazi crisis of the Obama Administration. “Trump acted,” they demand, “while Obama (and Hillary Clinton) let those people die in Benghazi”. They are creating a false equivalence between the two crises.
Why is this false? What happened in Baghdad was at the most heavily defended US Embassy in the world, one that has always been considered a high-risk station. Benghazi was a lightly defended US Consulate, a condition that the Ambassador Stephens was well aware of when he went there.
In the recent case, US Marines and other troops from Central Command were on standby in Kuwait, 400 miles from Baghdad, about a two-hour helicopter flight. At Benghazi, the closest US troops were in Italy, over 700 miles away, and not a prepared assault force. One of the issues the Obama Administration faced was that the military was not prepared to rescue anyone in Benghazi, and by the time that could be arranged, the riots and killing was over.
Everyone Does It
Biden and Trump in Ukraine, Trump’s actions in Baghdad and Obama’s in Benghazi: they are similar situations. But both have huge practical differences that make comparing them uncertain at best, and a false equivalency at worst.
But the final “false equivalency” in today’s politics is in overarching theme: “Trump is just doing what all politicians do, he’s just more blatant about it”, followed by the inevitable “Democrats did it too”.
That is not a false equivalency, it is just bull.
Just Bull
Just a short list of Trump personnel in or going to jail: Manafort, Gates, Flynn, Papadopoulos, Cohen, and Stone. Another list of Trump Cabinet level officers who have resigned under fire: Shanahan, Price, Zinke, Sessions, and Acosta. There hasn’t been a President since Andrew Johnson that had so many senior staff under accusation. Even Nixon only lost a couple cabinet members to Watergate.
The President of the United States constantly violates accepted norms of behavior. He insults his opponents, belittles those who disagree with his policies, makes fun of the handicapped, and calls for the killing of those who speak against him. Not sure about the last one? Ask “the Whistleblower,” the one the President accused of “treason”. “You know what we did with traitors in the old days,” are Trump’s words.
The scope of Trump’s actions are wide. No Democrat has behaved this way.
There’s going to be a lot more false equivalencies made as the 2020 campaign season continues. Don’t buy into them, and don’t let others get away with using falsehoods to buttress their arguments. Whether folks accept or not, there is a single truth, a set of irrefutable facts, that should lead us to answers. Stand by the truth.
Last night – the United States used an aerial drone to kill a senior Iranian General outside of the Baghdad airport. While Soleimani lead Iran’s influence on groups like Hezbollah and Hamas, he was also one of the top leaders of the Iranian government. There will be consequences.
