by Mary Shaw
www.OpEdNews.com
On May 25, Amnesty International released its annual report on the
state of human rights around the world, country by country. The U.S.
didn't score very high because of the Bush administration's failure
to fully investigate the facts surrounding the torture of detainees
in the "war on terror"
and its failure to prosecute anyone at the higher levels in the
chain of command. The Bush administration continues to blame the
prisoner abuse problems on "a few bad apples", as if Lynndie England
could have thought the whole thing up on her own.
The official responses to Amnesty's report were interesting.
On May 31, in a Rose Garden news conference, George W. Bush
described Amnesty's report as "absurd".
This mirrored an earlier statement by Vice President Dick Cheney,
who had said, "For Amnesty International to suggest that somehow the
United States is a violator of human rights, I frankly just don't
take them seriously."
Then, on June 1, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said that "those
who make such outlandish charges lose any claim to objectivity or
seriousness."
What an interesting change of heart! In the past, the Bush
administration has cited Amnesty International's reports numerous
times to back up its own claims of human rights abuses by other
governments. Rumsfeld himself repeatedly cited Amnesty
International's reports on human rights abuses by Saddam Hussein's
regime to justify the war in Iraq. For example, in March of 2003,
Rumsfeld said that "it seems to me a careful reading of Amnesty
International or the record of Saddam Hussein, having used chemical
weapons on his own people as well as his neighbors, and the
viciousness of that regime, which is well known and documented by
human rights organizations, ought not to be surprised." Rumsfeld
cited Amnesty again on April 1, 2003, when he noted that "if you
read the various human rights groups and Amnesty International's
description of what they know has gone on, it's not a happy
picture."
It appears that the Bush administration takes Amnesty International
seriously when doing so might suit its own agenda, but not when
members of the administration might be held accountable for their
own questionable actions. This kind of defensiveness, and this
"shoot the messenger"
response to Amnesty's allegations, speaks volumes.
George W. Bush continues his practice of stubbornly and arrogantly
refusing to admit to any possibility of ever having made a mistake.
And, rather than submit to any kind of impartial investigation that
might expose the true facts, his administration instead lashes out
in a hostile attempt to discredit its critics.
It's time for the Bush administration to put up or shut up.
At a June 1 news conference, Rumsfeld stated that "[T]here's so much
transparency in Gitmo and so much oversight." But if there truly is
transparency regarding the conditions at Guantanamo and other
detention facilities, then why does the Bush administration refuse
to allow Amnesty International and other independent organizations
to inspect those facilities and see for themselves?
If the Bush administration is truthful in its claims of exemplary
detention conditions, then what have they got to lose by allowing
such inspections?
As Amnesty International's Secretary General Irene Kahn observed,
"Transparency is the best antidote to misinformation and incorrect
facts." So, Mr. Bush, bring it on!
-----
Mary Shaw is a Philadelphia-based writer and activist. She currently
serves as Philadelphia Area Coordinator for Amnesty International,
and her views on politics, human rights, and social justice issues
have appeared in numerous online forums and in newspapers and
magazines worldwide. E-mail mary@maryshawonline.com.
Read more of Mary's writing in the archive:
http://www.opednews.com/archivesShawMary.htm
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