Matthew Rothschild: Human Rights Day a Sad Day for America

[marmar]

from The Progressive:



Human Rights Day a Sad Day for America
December 10, 2007 By Matthew Rothschild



Today is International Human Rights Day, and it’s a sad day for America.

A sad day because George Bush has so tarnished the reputation of this country, which was one of the prime movers behind the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

A sad day because it comes upon the heels of the disclosure that the CIA destroyed tapes of its torturing of detainees.

But let’s not kid ourselves here, or engage in nostalgia. There were no good old days of the CIA, at least not when it comes to honoring human rights.

Long before the reign of Bush and Cheney, the CIA was teaching and practicing torture all over the world, from Brazil and Argentina to El Salvador and Guatemala and all the way over to the Congo, Laos, Vietnam, and the Philippines.

But what is shocking about the Bush and Cheney is just how brazen and sweeping their claims are.

They go up to Capitol Hill and plead for the leeway to engage in what Cheney delicately calls “advanced interrogation techniques.”

They go into the Supreme Court and argue that noncitizens and citizens alike have no habeas corpus rights and can be detained indefinitely.

And Bush goes on TV to say that he’s spied on Americans without warrants, and that he’s held detainees in secret prisons around the world.

All of these acts are an offense to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which we’re supposed to be celebrating today. ......(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.progressive.org/mag_wx121007