Post by Islamic Revival on Jun 4, 2005 2:22:11 GMT -5
The US and Human Rights
By Sabaa Ali
Al-Jazeerah, June 4, 2005
www.aljazeerah.info/4o/The%20US%20and%20Human%20Rights%20By%20Sabaa%20Ali.htm
There are some happenings in the world that do surprise me. For example, the way the international community accepts the US ownership of nuclear weapons but its denial of nuclear weaponry to other sovereign states. It is blatant hypocrisy and I’ve never been able to understand why it is acceptable.
However, there are some events which do not surprise me at all. Take the recent Qur’an desecration story. I was neither horrified nor shocked when I heard that the vilification of the Qur’an was a tool being used against prisoners in Guantanamo Bay. It seemed like a perfectly typical example of the way the US behaves towards those it looks down upon.
We are not living in a dreamland. Do we expect that the US forces are always on their best behavior and that they are gentlemanly in their conduct when they ravage and pillage nations around the globe? US forces are known for the aggressive manner in which they are trained and for making a mockery of human rights.
The web site, ‘From Wounded Knee to Iraq: A Chronology of US Imperialism’ details a total of 136 US acts of aggression world-wide from 1890 to 2003.
What we need to remind ourselves is that these wars are not driven to act out of love for humanity or for some noble cause. Rather, they are driven by pure capitalistic greed.
Thomas Friedman, the New York Times’ Foreign Affairs columnist described the US agenda when he wrote, "The hidden hand of the market will never work without a hidden fist -- McDonald's cannot flourish without McDonnell-Douglas, the designer of the F-15. And the hidden fist that keeps the world safe for Silicon Valley's technologies is called the US Army, Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps."
The situation is further clarified when one reads a quote by George Kennan, Director of Policy Planning of the U.S. Dept. of State, 1948 who said “We have 50 percent of the world's wealth, but only 6.3 percent of its population. . . In this situation we cannot fail to be the object of envy and resentment. Our real task in the coming period is to devise a pattern of relationships which will allow us to maintain this position of disparity. We should cease to talk about the raising of the living standards, human rights, and democratization. The day is not far off when we are going to have to deal in straight power concepts. The less we are then hampered by idealistic slogans, the better.”
In its ongoing objective for world domination, the US conveniently leaves its conscience behind. It is a well-known fact that 100 to 150 such prisoners were sent to Egypt, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Pakistan, ostensibly to have them tortured for information because they can't be tortured on U.S. soil or in American-run facilities.
The hypocrisy of the US administration is all too clear, and rhetoric such as its desire for freedom and democracy around the world should be treated with the contempt it deserves.
Sabaa Ali is a freelance writer on world affairs and welcomes feedback on sabaa.ali@gmail.com
By Sabaa Ali
Al-Jazeerah, June 4, 2005
www.aljazeerah.info/4o/The%20US%20and%20Human%20Rights%20By%20Sabaa%20Ali.htm
There are some happenings in the world that do surprise me. For example, the way the international community accepts the US ownership of nuclear weapons but its denial of nuclear weaponry to other sovereign states. It is blatant hypocrisy and I’ve never been able to understand why it is acceptable.
However, there are some events which do not surprise me at all. Take the recent Qur’an desecration story. I was neither horrified nor shocked when I heard that the vilification of the Qur’an was a tool being used against prisoners in Guantanamo Bay. It seemed like a perfectly typical example of the way the US behaves towards those it looks down upon.
We are not living in a dreamland. Do we expect that the US forces are always on their best behavior and that they are gentlemanly in their conduct when they ravage and pillage nations around the globe? US forces are known for the aggressive manner in which they are trained and for making a mockery of human rights.
The web site, ‘From Wounded Knee to Iraq: A Chronology of US Imperialism’ details a total of 136 US acts of aggression world-wide from 1890 to 2003.
What we need to remind ourselves is that these wars are not driven to act out of love for humanity or for some noble cause. Rather, they are driven by pure capitalistic greed.
Thomas Friedman, the New York Times’ Foreign Affairs columnist described the US agenda when he wrote, "The hidden hand of the market will never work without a hidden fist -- McDonald's cannot flourish without McDonnell-Douglas, the designer of the F-15. And the hidden fist that keeps the world safe for Silicon Valley's technologies is called the US Army, Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps."
The situation is further clarified when one reads a quote by George Kennan, Director of Policy Planning of the U.S. Dept. of State, 1948 who said “We have 50 percent of the world's wealth, but only 6.3 percent of its population. . . In this situation we cannot fail to be the object of envy and resentment. Our real task in the coming period is to devise a pattern of relationships which will allow us to maintain this position of disparity. We should cease to talk about the raising of the living standards, human rights, and democratization. The day is not far off when we are going to have to deal in straight power concepts. The less we are then hampered by idealistic slogans, the better.”
In its ongoing objective for world domination, the US conveniently leaves its conscience behind. It is a well-known fact that 100 to 150 such prisoners were sent to Egypt, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Pakistan, ostensibly to have them tortured for information because they can't be tortured on U.S. soil or in American-run facilities.
The hypocrisy of the US administration is all too clear, and rhetoric such as its desire for freedom and democracy around the world should be treated with the contempt it deserves.
Sabaa Ali is a freelance writer on world affairs and welcomes feedback on sabaa.ali@gmail.com
