Once Again, Amnesty International Playing Politics

I wrote an article last May in USANow about Amnesty International's annual report. I chronicled the background of Secretary General Irene Khan, who is the first woman and the first Muslim to head up Amnesty International. She has been quoted as comparing modern day Muslim aggression to the Crusades, but at the same time stated that there is no need for a War on Terror. Under Khan's direction, Amnesty International was harsh in their judgement of the USA last year, and this year is no different.

States the report: "When the most powerful country in the world thumbs its nose at the rule of law and human rights, it grants a licence to others to commit abuse with impunity." Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay are again cited as examples of human rights abuses. Granted, abuses took place at Abu Ghraib, but has there been any evidence that those abuses exemplify US policy? And other than faulty reporting from Newsweek, have there been reports of abuses at Guantanamo Bay?

During the past year, the world has witnessed be-headings and car bombings in Iraq perpetrated by Islamic militants, child molestation by UN officials in the Congo, and ongoing genocide in the Sudan (perpetrated by Islamic militants). If Islamic militants in Iraq and Sudan followed the US human rights example (as suggested by Kahn), millions of civilians would still be alive today (it is estimated that 2 million people in southern Sudan have been murdered at the hands of Muslims from northern Sudan). Yet Ms. Khan states that it is the example of the United States which causes others to commit abuses! How am I not surprised? Because we had a couple of rogue guards force prisoners to get naked, Ms. Khan excuses Islamic militants of torture and murder. Do you think she's perhaps just a little biased by her religion?

Given her political and religious background, as well as her history writing these annual reports, I suggest she go ahead and write the next 20 years worth of reports today. She could start every report like this: "The USA is guilty of human rights abuses. The ten-fold murderous response by the Muslim community is justified because of the United States' example."