UN Security Council hypocrisy
Folllowing the end of the of WWII the United Nations was formed and one of its primary components was the Security Council whose tasks include the maintenance of international peace and security. The Security Council includes five permanent members who were the great powers that were the victors of World War II — the United Sates, the Soviet Union (now represented by Russia), the United Kingdom, France and China. These permanent members can veto any substantive Security Council resolution which makes their own actions almost immune from UN interference.
It was also these same five powers that were the first countries to develop atomic weapons:
- 1945 United States
- 1949 USSR
- 1952 United Kingdom
- 1960 France
- 1964 China
It is these same five countries who maintian fleets of nuclear powered submarines armed with ballistic missiles each equipped with multiple nuclear warheads:
- 18 United States
- 15 USSR
- 6 China
- 4 United Kingdom
- 4 France
Although there are other countries that possess nuclear weapons, they only have the ability to fire them at neighbouuring countries using short range missiles. It is therefore ironic that it is the five countries given the greatest responsibility for world peace who are the same countries that cling to the means of destroying any country in the world.
Aggression against other countries
- 1956 UK and France invade part of Egypt
- 1961 US attempts to invade Cuba
- 1962 China invades part of India
- 1965 US bombs Laos
- 1969 China attack Russian border troops
- 1979 USSR invades Afghanistan
- 1979 China attacks Vietnam
- 1983 US invade Grenada
- 1986 US bombs Libya
- 1989 US invade Panama
- 2001 US and UK invade Afghanistan
- 2003 US and UK invade Iraq
- 2004 US commits drone attacks in Pakistan
Military force against populations they control
- 1948 UK commits Batang Kali massacre in Malaya
- 1952 UK suppression of Mau Mau Rising in Kenya
- 1956 USSR suppression of the Hungarian revolution
- 1959 China suppression of the Tibetan uprising
- 1961 France commits Paris massacre
- 1962 USSR commits Novocherkassk massacre
- 1968 US commits the My Lai Massacre in South Vietnam
- 1972 UK commits the Bogside Massacre in Northern Ireland
- 1987 China commits the Lieyu Massacre in China
- 1970 US commits Kent State massacre in the US
- 1989 China commits Tiananmen Square Massacre
- 1997 China killed protetsres in Ghulja, China
- 2005 US commiied the Haditha massacre in Iraq
While there have been statements from the United Nations condemning some of these actions, there have never been any real conseqeunces from them because of the power of the veto these five countries hold. It is difficult to see how the Security Council be really effective so long as its permanent members can can bomb and invade countries with impunity. It is also difficult to see these members relinquishing the power that they find so useful to abuse.