It’s clear to me that the example of Iraq and WMDs was a bare-faced lie by the US government, concocted to start a war. But does that mean I automatically believe the opposite of anything the US government says from that point onwards? We have to consider more than just the source of the claim.

For Iraq, the US war hawks made it clear they had an objective of going to war in the Middle East. Their plans were obvious.

This seems like a completely different setup. We’re supposed to disbelieve this statement because it’s part of the US government’s evil plan to… prevent a war happening?

And I say this as someone who thinks Russia does actually have legitimate beef with the prospect of NATO expansion, despite their thuggish approach to negotiation.