I think it's sort of a terminal centrism. They can't accept that they would do such actions for obvious reasons (despite them overtly telling us 'we're going to run the region' and 'it's for oil') so instead they try and downplay it so that they can seem rational which ironically makes them look even more irrational. They're working backwards to try and justify their stance.

It's really insane but also not surprising to see considering how many people do truly live in their own fictional world and never bother to reassess it.