Orbits: Western Nations Contempt and Double Standards

By: Muawad Mustafa Rashid

Once again, ongoing events in the world’s conflict zones reveal the true face of the West: a face etched with double standards in unmistakable clarity. While billions of dollars and euros flow to arm Ukraine, intense international pressure campaigns are mounted to disarm resistance movements in Palestine and Lebanon. Simultaneously, the Western world deliberately turns a blind eye to the blood of innocents being spilled in Sudan, facilitated by weapons and funding delivered in plain sight.

It is a dirty political equation: arming for interests, disarming for hegemony, and ignoring massacres for the sake of alliances.

I. A Bottomless Budget… When the Enemy is “Desired”

Western nations do not hesitate to devise ways to pump weapons into Ukraine, as if competing to prolong the war. After allocating over $66 billion in security assistance to Ukraine since the war began, Washington has begun shifting the financial burden onto its European allies.

·Unprecedented Funding Proposals: The European Union is considering using €140 billion from frozen Russian assets to finance Ukrainian armament—a move the Kremlin describes as illegal seizure. In the U.S. Congress, a “Peace Act” is being proposed to create a funding pool of $5 to $8 billion annually from NATO allies to facilitate the transfer of American weapons to Kyiv.

·Shifting the Financial Burden: The U.S. Secretary of Defense has stated that Washington prefers a diplomatic settlement and wants European NATO nations to take on the “greater responsibility” of supporting Ukraine, announcing a reduction in military aid in the 2026 budget as part of a “strategic reorientation.” Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Zelenskyy has called on his allies to allocate 0.25% of their GDP to support his country’s military-industrial capabilities.

The message is clear: the war in Europe deserves unlimited spending and financial and legal innovation. That war is a “war of principle,” and the military solution is the first and last option.

II. Disarmament… When Defense is “Terrorism”

On the other side of the Mediterranean, the West approaches the issue of weapons with a completely inverted logic. While Israel, with Western backing, continues its occupation and attacks, the weapons of resistance become the sole “obstacle” to peace!

Sustained American-European Pressure: EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Kaja Kallas, confirmed that Hamas’s refusal to disarm constitutes a major obstacle to peace. The U.S. administration is working to form an “international stabilization force” in Gaza, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insists on disarming Hamas “in the literal sense,” threatening to do so by force if necessary.

·Logical Rejection by the Resistance: Hamas and Hezbollah reject these demands outright, viewing them as attempts to strip away their existential means of defense against ongoing occupation and aggression. Ali Baraka of Hamas asserts that “it is impossible to give up their weapons while occupation and aggression continue.”

·Hezbollah in the Crosshairs: The pressure is not limited to Gaza. American statements also address Hezbollah’s future, while the Israeli army, according to reports, is studying a potential timeframe for military action in Lebanon. Analysts describe the group as “strategically stubborn,” with its arsenal tied to a deterrent equation against Israel.

Here, there is no room for principle or self-defense. The sole criterion is serving the political agenda of Israel and its allies, which aims to weaken any force standing against their expansionist projects.

III. Sudan… The Funded Massacres and Averted Gazes

In the ugliest display of this double standard, Western and Arab nations, led by the United Arab Emirates, stand silent—indeed, entirely ignoring—the horrific massacres committed by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Sudan, despite overwhelming evidence of their involvement in funding and arming these militias.

Documented Genocide: A detailed BBC investigation uncovered a horrific massacre in El Fasher last October, which claimed the lives of over two thousand unarmed civilians. Videos showed RSF fighters executing prisoners and laughing among corpses, even describing their actions as “extermination.” The International Criminal Court has announced an investigation into war crimes and crimes against humanity there.

The UAE’s Complicit Role: Amnesty International has issued explicit accusations against the United Arab Emirates, specifically calling on it to halt the supply of weapons to the Rapid Support Forces that are fueling the conflict. The organization’s report stated: “All states – and the UAE in particular – must halt the supply of arms to the Rapid Support Forces.”

Shameful Western Silence: Despite these stark calls and documented evidence, neither the UAE nor its Western allies have taken any real action to stop the Sudanese bloodshed. In fact, the Amnesty report clarifies that the entire international community, including the United States, the United Kingdom, and EU states, has “failed the people of Sudan.”

Why this silence? Because certain geopolitical and economic interests, and alliance relationships with Abu Dhabi, seem more important than the lives of thousands of innocents in Darfur and Kordofan. Sudanese blood is cheaper than disturbing an alliance or disrupting a deal.

Conclusion: One Standard… Two Measures

The painful conclusion is clear: there are no fixed global values or governing ethical principles in contemporary international politics. There are only interests.

The First Measure: If a conflict serves to weaken the West’s strategic rivals (like Russia) or supports the hegemony of its regional allies (like Israel), then treasury doors swing open, and the military solution is king.

·The Second Measure: If the conflict involves defense of land and existence against occupation or aggression by those very allies, then the language of sanctions, pressure, and disarmament rises, and resistance is branded as terrorism.

·The Third Measure: If massacres are committed in cold blood by forces supported by a wealthy, allied state, then the world looks away, accountability vanishes, and civilians are left to their tragic fate.

This is a duplicity that borders on contempt for the minds and intellect of peoples. It treats the Arab and Islamic world as deserving only the deceptive logic of force and views its suffering solely through the narrow lens of its own interests. The time has come for our nation to raise its voice loudly against this contempt, to assert its own narrative, and to defend its right to self-determination and to protect its land and people—without waiting for a Western justice that will never come.