In one of those peculiar ironies of our self-involvement in the aftermath of the Russian invasion of Crimea, it is the moral authority of the U.S. that is evidently in play. "U.S. Lacks Moral Authority to Criticize Russia for Intervening in Ukraine," reads the headline on a recent blog post at the Scientific American. Adds Eugene Robinson in The Washington Post: "The United States, frankly, has limited standing to insist on absolute respect for the territorial integrity of sovereign states."
These critics, along with others from all points on the political spectrum, share a common analytical error: They assume that moral authority comes in but a single variety. Moral authority can take many forms. At the same time, its importance in international affairs is probably very small.
Let's begin by trying to understand what the critics are talking about. They argue that U.S. leaders are poorly placed to judge another nation for doing what this nation has also done.