Biden Redefines the Term 'Genocide' to Fit His Political Narrative

According to Britanica.com, the primary purpose of language is “to facilitate communication, in the sense of transmission of information from one person to another.”

The purpose of language is to communicate ideas. But what if language were used for another purpose? What if language was used to obscure rather than illuminate? What if language was used to mislead or misdirect?

Anyone who uses language for a purpose other than to communicate — in service to a political agenda, for example — is attacking the very notion of communication. And when presidents do it, there are serious repercussions.

On Tuesday, Joe Biden decided to unilaterally alter the definition of “genocide” in service to a political agenda that includes generating fear and hatred against Russian President Vladimir Putin. In truth, Putin should be feared and hated for his attack on a much smaller neighbor and his numerous assassinations carried out against people who disagree with him.

Putin is a murderous thug. But is he committing “genocide” in Ukraine? It’s no small point. Words have meanings and in the case of war crimes, those meanings make the difference between ordinary brutishness and crimes against humanity.

Washington Post:

President Biden on Tuesday referred to Russia as committing a “genocide” in Ukraine, a significant escalation of the president’s rhetoric and a notable shift that comes as U.S. officials have avoided using the term, which suggests an effort to wipe out all or part of a specific group.

Biden’s initial comment came at an event in Menlo, Iowa, where he was decrying the effects of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine on the higher prices Americans are paying for gas and food.

“Your family budget, your ability to fill up your tank, none of it should hinge on whether a dictator declares war and commits genocide a half a world away,” Biden said.

For purposes of the law, the UN Genocide Convention defines “genocide” as “a crime committed with the intent to destroy a national, ethnic, racial or religious group, in whole or in part. It does not include political groups or so called “cultural genocide.”

Since about 20 percent of Ukraine are ethnic Russians, Ukraine and Russia share a common Slavic heritage. Both nations are Christian. The two nations are culturally different, but according to the definition laid out in the Genocide Convention, any attempt by Putin the destroy the Ukrainian people would not be considered “genocide.”

Not only that but there must be an “intent” to commit genocide as well.

To constitute genocide, there must be a proven intent on the part of perpetrators to physically destroy a national, ethnical, racial or religious group. Cultural destruction does not suffice, nor does an intention to simply disperse a group, though this may constitute a crime against humanity as set out in the Rome Statute. It is this special intent, or dolus specialis, that makes the crime of genocide so unique.

Putin is trying to win a war. The fact that he doesn’t care that he’s killing a lot of innocent civilians makes him a murdering cossack and not a genocidal maniac.

Biden does violence to the language by identifying Putin’s crimes as something they aren’t. He does a great disservice to the Ukrainian people who are fighting for their national existence. Putin will have a field day dissecting Biden’s idiotic choice to portray the Russian leader as committing genocide when the United Nations has no intention of doing so and will almost certainly never open an investigation.

The president should stop playing politics with definitions and help Ukraine survive.