What do China, Russia, and the United States have in common?
Most Americans would like to think that the United States is a country that transcends the world, that we generally take it upon ourselves to set the bar. We are powerful, we are free, and we are just -- or like I said, that is what a lot of us like to think.
When our human rights record is spoken of in the same breath as Russia and China, not for the sake of contrasting, but for comaparison, this belief might be a little shaken, or maybe it hits you worse. We have reached the point where we are being condemned by human rights organizations along with two of our historical rivals, rivals we often portray as evil while we call ourselves a nation of Christ.
I for one think we should be doing better. I think you probably agree.
Amnesty International, to the surprise of no one and rightfully so, urged Washington to close the prison in Guantanamo Bay, a place where human rights and the Bill of Rights are all but ignored. However, the strongest statements were directed at the mishandling of Iraq:
America has become powerful and arrogant. It's time for us to recognize that and end this war that continues to kill our soldiers and innocent Iraqis.
When our human rights record is spoken of in the same breath as Russia and China, not for the sake of contrasting, but for comaparison, this belief might be a little shaken, or maybe it hits you worse. We have reached the point where we are being condemned by human rights organizations along with two of our historical rivals, rivals we often portray as evil while we call ourselves a nation of Christ.
I for one think we should be doing better. I think you probably agree.
Amnesty International said in a report released Tuesday and quoted by AP that the relentless pursuit of security by the world's powerful nations had undermined human rights, draining energy and attention from crises afflicting the poor and underprivileged.
In its 2006 annual report, the human rights watchdog condemned countries such as Russia, the United States and China for focusing on narrowly defined interests, diluting efforts to solve conflicts elsewhere such as Sudans Darfur region.
Amnesty International, to the surprise of no one and rightfully so, urged Washington to close the prison in Guantanamo Bay, a place where human rights and the Bill of Rights are all but ignored. However, the strongest statements were directed at the mishandling of Iraq:
When the powerful are too arrogant to review and reassess their strategies, the heaviest price is paid by the poor and powerless in this case ordinary Iraqi women, men and children, Khan said.
America has become powerful and arrogant. It's time for us to recognize that and end this war that continues to kill our soldiers and innocent Iraqis.
Yes, we liberals have made the world so much better with out human rights crusades. Remember the Shah? Good thing I brought in the Mullahs. Remember Somoza? Good thing I brought in the Sandinistas.
How dare George Bush bring free elections to the people of Iraq. Funny how Andrew cries about "innocent Iraqis" but never cared about those who suffered from Saddam's savagery.
Posted by Jimmy Carter | 10:29 AM
And who could forget Vietnam and the way we bailed on the Paris accords? We liberals portrayed Ho Chi Minh as the George Washington of Vietnam. Then they murdered two million Vietnamese. That vacuum cleared the way for noted humanitarian, Pol Pot. For being pro human rights we liberals have a lot of blood on our hands.
Posted by Jimmy Carter | 10:32 AM
Real liberals didn't support those polices, but Nixon, Raygun, and Bush did. Lets not forget Rummy gave Saddam those weapons and we supported him before, during, and after the worst of his atrocities.
George Bush bringing free elections is the biggest joke I've ever heard. He steals elections here and we're supposed to believe the puppet regime over there is legitimate. He overthrew a democratically elected leader named Aristide in Haiti and tried to overthrow Chavez, but he was restored to power.
There are our current secret gulags, torture and our weapons of mass destruction.
Posted by Anonymous | 1:33 PM