Regarding Russia's Crimean actions vs. NATO's Iraq actions

Regarding Russia's Crimean actions vs. NATO's Iraq actions

Regarding Russia's Crimean actions vs. NATO's Iraq actions:
All four Crosstalk speakers discussed things as black and white, legal or illegal. I think that is a mistake. Allowing NATO to frame the debate this way is misleading.

Here I have some ideas for debating points (feel free to use them on air if you wish):

In real events and in the law there are many degrees of severity. For example, with person-to-person violence, we have a broad range of crimes, depending on jurisdiction. In order from most serious to the lightest, we have crimes such as:
* 1st degree murder (intentional, premeditated killing in cold blood);
* 2nd degree murder (hot-blooded killing out of anger);
* 3rd degree murder (manslaugher),
* voluntary manslaughter (intending to harm but not kill, but accidentally going too far and killing someone),
* involuntary manslaughter (unintentionally killing someone while violating the law, like accidentally killing someone while driving drunk),
* negligent homicide (failure to do your duty resulting in someone's death, for example, ignoring safety precautions at work and the result is someone's death),
* justifiable homicide (killing in self defense);
* attempted murder (trying to kill someone, but failing);
* assault causing grievous bodily harm (beating someone severely);
* simple assault (a punch on the arm, a simple slap);
* mutual combat (a mutual barroom brawl or shoving match);
* criminal threatening, menacing, and intimidation.

If we compare nations to people, then what the US and NATO did with Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya was akin to mass murder. US and NATO are a gang of international serial killers, like Charles Manson and the Manson Family. What Russia did with Ukraine and Crimea was akin to self-defense, or maybe mutual combat, or intimidation, like a big brother standing up to a neighborhood bully to protect his little brother.

Or to put it another way, NATO accusing Russia of doing "the same thing" is like Jeffrey Dahmer or Ted Bundy telling the Karate Kid that he's "just as bad" because he "also resorted to violence." Sorry, but a little pushing and shoving and exchanging some tough words is not the same thing as having a million skeletons buried in your back yard. NATO killed over a million in their various invasions over the last decade. Russia has killed nobody over Crimea. If Russia is technically guilty of anything (and that's up to debate in an international court) it is a much, much lighter infraction. It is a light misdemeanor vs. a series of the worst kind of felonies.

Even if Russia were to be convicted of any kind of wrongdoing in Crimea, it would be small claims court and a slap on the wrist affair. NATO's crimes are major felonies with death row/life sentence in maximum security prison kinds of penalties. And NATO has not received any punishment for their international criminal killing spree. What right do they have of enacting international punishments and sanctions over a relative trifle?

Let's just get this part straight. Don't let them get away with such a grotesquely false equivalence.