Bush's Words On Liberty Don't Mesh With Policies

[NNN0LHI]

http://www.yubanet.com/artman/publish/usa.shtml#17324

President Bush's soaring rhetoric yesterday that the United States will promote the growth of democratic movements and institutions worldwide is at odds with the administration's increasingly close relations with repressive governments in every corner of the world.

Some of the administration's allies in the war against terrorism -- including Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Uzbekistan -- are ranked by the State Department as among the worst human rights abusers. The president has proudly proclaimed his friendship with Russian President Vladimir Putin while remaining largely silent about Putin's dismantling of democratic institutions in the past four years. The administration, eager to enlist China as an ally in the effort to restrain North Korea's nuclear ambitions, has played down human rights concerns there, as well.

more

[RaleighNCDUer]

1. Today on NPR I heard someone being interviewed - didn't get

who - who was asked about those countries and his reply was "that's why we are engaged with those countries, to influence them in the right way".

Well, if engagement works with Saudi Arabia and China and Uzbekistan, why won't it work with Iraq and Iran and Cuba? By what criteria do we engage one, and not another?

[NYC]

2. It meshes if you define liberty

as what we did in Iraq. While listening to the speech, I envisioned Iraq as Bush's definition of liberty. Hence, he was talking about world domination. I think that meshes.

[glarius]

3. What "soaring rhetoric"?.....to me it was

nothing but threats!....I have yet to hear anyone on TV refer to his threatening speech as anything but "visionary" or "thought provoking"...anything but what it was....DAMNED FRIGHTENING!