blog/data/2018-03-22-congratulate-putin.txt

   1 Title: Self-appointed leaders of the Free World
   2 Tags: english
   3 Date: 2018-03-22 11:00
   4
   5 <p>The leaders of the worlds have started to congratulate the
   6 re-elected Russian head of state, and this causes some criticism.  I
   7 am though a little fascinated by a comment from USA senator John McCain,
   8 <a href="http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/379339-mccain-rips-trumps-congratulatory-call-to-putin-as-insult-to-russian-people">sited
   9 by The Hill and others</a>:
  10
  11 <p><blockquote>
  12 <p>"An American president does not lead the Free World by
  13 congratulating dictators on winning sham elections."</p>
  14 </blockquote></p>
  15
  16 <p>While I totally agree with the senator here, the way the quote is
  17 phrased make me suspect that he is unaware of the simple fact that USA
  18 have not lead the Free World since at least before its government
  19 <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maher_Arar">kidnapped a
  20 completely innocent Canadian citizen in transit on his way home to
  21 Canada via John F. Kennedy International Airport in September 2002 and
  22 sent him to be tortured in Syria for a year</a>.</p>
  23
  24 <p>USA might be running ahead, but the path they are taking is not the
  25 one taken by any Free World.</p>