LIBERTY LOVES JUSTICE

by Malik Isasis
























George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, The Republican Party and Cheney’s cabal of neocons have looked under the skirt of Lady Liberty and copped a feel—no, scratch that, they out right molested Lady Liberty while in pursuit of a narrow, ideologically-driven agenda that has cost the United States its credibility on every level.

There was a time when the United States called out other countries on their human rights violations—I should preference this statement, United States has always had a horrible track record with human rights, concerning US citizens of color or minority populations, with that said, at least when they spoke out on the international stage against other countries for torture, they could not be called hypocrites.

What a difference, absolute power makes.

We are now the hypocrites

Imagine if the United States called China to the carpet for its human rights violation, and China hit back with calling the United States hypocrites and bullet-pointing their criticism of the US with pinpoint accuracy. Well, it happened.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, Qin Gang stated on March 7, 2007 of a U.S. State Department 2006 Human Rights Report, that “The US government has no right to depict itself as a human rights watchdog, a view that is generally agreed by public opinion of the international community," Qin said. "We suggest the US should reflect on its own human rights problems, and stop interfering in the internal affairs of other countries on the pretext of human rights," said the spokesman. “ (more comments here).

The U.S. State Department 2006 Human Rights Report can be read here. Interestingly enough, out of the 196 countries in the report, the United States has left itself out of the report for the very things it blames others for doing.

The United States government has disappeared foreign nationals, and detained them outside of the United States territory in secret Central Intelligence Agency (C.I.A) prisons in Jordan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and yet unknown Eastern European countries. Read the harrowing account of Marwan Jabour, here. In these proxy prisons, prisoners are being tortured, as defined by the United Nations Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. The very reason these people are being held in proxy is because the United States has laws against torture, and places like Jordan, Afghanistan and Pakistan, do not.

In a January 18, 2007 Senate Judiciary Hearing, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said to the panel of senators:

“The Constitution doesn’t say every individual in the United States or citizen is hereby granted or assured the right of habeas corpus. It doesn’t say that. It simply says the right shall not be suspended” except in cases of rebellion or invasion.”

Investigative journalist Robert Parry wrote in response to Gonzales’ statement that it was “one of the most chilling public statements ever made by an Attorney General.”

Habeas Corpus is a common law, which basically states that a person has a right to fight unlawful imprisonment and/or arbitrary State detention. On October 18, 2006, Bush signed the Military Commissions Act of 2006 [Public Law 109-366, 120 stat. 2006] that was passed by the 109th Republican Congress. This act gave Bush the ability to call foreign nationals and U.S. citizens, “enemy combatants” and detain them indefinitely without the Writ of Habeas Corpus, the ability to address one’s imprisonment through the courts.

As discussed in an earlier post, the Military Commissions Act of 2006 also laid rest to, The Posse Comitatus Act which effectively gave Bush the ability to use the U.S. military against U.S. citizens within U.S. borders. Senator John Warner, Republican added the amendment title the John Warner Defense Appropriations Act [House Resolution 5122].

The United States can no longer criticize Israel, not that the government does, however if it were to criticize Israel’s occupation of the Palestinians, it would ring hollow due to the fact that we too, occupy Arab people.

The United States under the governance of George Bush and his Republican cabal have lead the United States down the road of despotism, so when we criticize others for their human rights violations, we look foolish—idiotic, even.

The wheels coming off of the Bush’s death machine.

With yet another convicted felon in the ranks of the Administration, the wheels are coming off Bush’s death machine. The Bush Public Relations Administration can no longer hide their perversions from the public with its fancy tap dancing. In fact, they’ve stayed on stage too long and look pathetic, trying to lie their way from under the weight of their ineptitude.

The Democratic Party is so overwhelmed with Republican indiscretions from the Constitution, and morality, where would they start? With Hurricane Katrina? War Profiteering? Unlawful wiretaps on Americans? Illegal Iraq war and occupation? Lying to Congress? Torture?

I submit we, the United States of America, become the 197th country on that list in the Human Rights Report 2006.

More on Habeas Corpus

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