Left I on the News

The entire U.S. establishment is all verklempt about the presence of Russian troops in Georgia, with, as I've documented the tiniest part of on this blog, statement after statement about respecting "territorial integrity" and how "stark international aggression" was a thing of the past. And of course most people have immediately contrasted those statements with actual U.S. behavior in the case of Iraq (not so much Afghanistan, although to some of us, the hypocrisy is equally applicable in that case).

But there was another international aggression that occurred not that long ago that the U.S. not only didn't condemn, but supported (and not just verbally) - the Ethiopian invasion of Somalia. Here's what the U.S. had to say about that:

The United States defended Ethiopia's assault on Islamists in Somalia, which has reportedly killed more than 1,000 people, but said "maximum restraint" was needed to spare civilians [Ed. note: Pinochet and Lt. Calley would be so proud of that "restraint"].

Gonzo Gallegos [Ed. note: !], a State Department spokesman, said Ethiopia's offensive was intended to halt "aggressions" by the Council of Islamic Courts (CIC) movement, which the United States this month said had been taken over by Al-Qaeda. [Ed. note - an allegation that AFP is happy to repeat without the slightest proof whatsoever.]

"Ethiopia has genuine security concerns with regard to developments within Somalia and has provided support at the request of legitimate governing authority [Ed. note: a "legitimate" government formed in Kenya in 2004]," he said, referring to Somalia's weak Western-backed government.

And, while charges of "genocide" are being hurled at Russia (despite the fact that evidence suggests that more Ossetians were killed by Georgian military forces than people who have been killed by Russians), none were ever made against Ethiopia, who continues to this day murdering Somalis:

US-backed Ethiopian soldiers have killed at least 43 civilians in two separate incidents in the Somali capital of Mogadishu and Arbiska.

The soldiers sprayed bullets on two passenger-filled buses in the town of Arbiska killing 37 civilians, AFP reported.