[whatshisface]

The simplest explanation is that US companies + media + government is the only group with enough clout to do this, and they will not sanction themselves.

It's not like there's a Netherlands invasion of Germany for us to all use as a neutral reference.

[whimsicalism]

I think you are conflating things here. Sure, US govt is not going to sanction itself. But I don't perceive the general populace as being as outraged by lives lost when the US bombs a hospital in Afghanistan as opposed to when Russia bombs a theater in Ukraine.

[whatshisface]

I would posit that the ratio of the number of people who know about it to the number of people outraged about it is similar in both examples. It's really about which got the 24/7 coverage.