Ode to Empire: Russian Lawmaker Lambasts

Clinton's Article on US Exceptionalism

Photo: Pixabay WORLD 18:18 23.10.2016

Hillary Clinton's Time magazine article, titled "Why America is exceptional," has prompted pundits
around the world to scratch their heads, according to Konstantin Kosachev, head of the Russian
Upper House's Foreign Affairs Committee.

Konstantin Kosachev, head of the Russian Upper House's Foreign Affairs Committee, harshly
criticized Hillary Clinton's article in Time magazine, titled "Why America is exceptional."

He decried the all-American panegyric as a "perfect example of propaganda pertaining to social,

racial, national, religious or linguistic superiority."

In an article published by the Russian newspaper Izvestia, Kosachev recalled in this regard that in
"very many countries," including Russia, such propaganda is outside the law.

He specifically drew attention to the fact that the article, which claims that "the US is an exceptional
and indispensable nation," was written by the former US Secretary of State and the current
Democratic presidential candidate.

Kosachev also underscored that America's exceptionalism is touted by a person who may soon "be
at the helm of a country possessing the largest military arsenal in the history of mankind."

According to Clinton, "most of all, America is indispensable and exceptional because of our
values, including our country's commitment to freedom, equality and opportunity."

"How exceptionalism can be combined with equality is a linguistic and logic puzzle," Kosachev said
commenting on Clinton's article.
He slammed Clinton's praise, countering that US exceptionalism presents "an open challenge to a
multipolar, just, equal and democratic world, based on the basic norms and principles
of international law."

Clinton argues in her article that "we need to continue leading the world because when America
fails to lead, we leave a vacuum that lets extremism take root, emboldens our adversaries and
discourages our friends."

Kosachev retorted that "the most incredible thing is that this is not hypocrisy, because a possible US
President really believes in what she is saying, even after [the events] in former Yugoslavia, Iraq,
Libya and Syria."

Additionally, he pointed to the extract in the article where Clinton claims that "Russia and China
can't begin to compare" when it comes to America's "network of alliances, built up with decades
of diplomacy."

It seems that mentioning Russia, mostly in a negative light, remains part and parcel of Clinton's pre-
election campaign, even though on October 12, President Vladimir Putin called on the United States
not to use Russia as a "bargaining chip" in their domestic political struggle.

During the second round of presidential debates earlier this month, when answering a question
about the compromising emails which had been revealed following her nomination, Clinton
launched an attack on Russia, accusing Moscow of aggression.

"The Kremlin, meaning Putin and the Russian government, are directing the attacks the hacking
on American accounts to influence our election. [] And WikiLeaks is part of that, as are other sites
where the Russians hack information we don't even know if it's accurate information and then
they put it out," she said. REUTERS/ ABDALRHMAN ISMAIL Did Hillary Call for Killing a Lot of
Civilians in Syria During the Debate?

She also accused Russia of an attempting to destroy Aleppo, aggression and airstrikes
against civilians in Syria. "I've stood up to Russia, I've taken on Putin and others, and I would do
that as President," she said.

During the third presidential debate, Clinton said that she will keep on insisting on establishing a no-
fly zone in Syria to gain leverage over Damascus and Moscow. She said so despite shocking
revelations from WikiLeaks emails wherein she acknowledged that a no-fly zone in Syria would
have horrific human consequences.

Interestingly, according to WikiLeaks statistics published on its Twitter account, the words 'Russia'
or 'Putin' were mentioned 178 times during the US presidential debates this year.

Read more: https://sputniknews.com/world/201610231046640103-hillary-clinton-article-us-

exceptionalism/