There is considerable current discussion about whether the decades-long push of NATO's expansion eastward, encouraged by the United States, is to be blamed for the Russian invasion of Ukraine, as famous "realist" John Mearsheimer, of the University of Chicago, has argued. That discussion should also include whether the U.S. is to blame for the refusal, or at least the hesitancy, of some Arab countries to condemn the Russian invasion, which reflects widespread Arab resentment of U.S. policy over the last several decades.
As Time magazine reported last week, the Arab League, representing 22 Arab countries, issued a recent statement that "failed to condemn Russia's invasion and offered little support to the Ukrainians." This was largely because, according to Time, the Arabs "generally see in Russia a substantial global power that continues to have relevance in their region … and is, also, a useful capital to publicly 'flirt' with when relations are strained" with the U.S. and the West.
