Freedom on the march, my ass.

[Telly Savalas]

(I posted this in a Biden-bashing thread, but since I'm a meglomaniac I feel it warrants its own thread.)

KIEV, Ukraine, June 8 - Six United States senators urged the Bush administration on Wednesday to reconsider its relationship with the authoritarian government in Uzbekistan, saying close association with a nation whose troops fired on demonstrators last month risked undermining the security of the United States.

The senators - four Republicans and two Democrats - also asked if the administration knew whether American-trained troops or American military equipment were used in the deadly crackdown, in Andijon, in northeastern Uzbekistan.
...
Mr. Karimov's government has long been criticized by the State Department, private aid organizations and the United Nations for its poor human rights record, repression of political opponents and use of torture. Yet it has managed to maintain strong ties with Washington, in part by granting the Pentagon access to an airbase near the Afghan border.
...
The letter was organized by Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona, two Senate staff members said, and was signed by three other Republicans - Mike DeWine of Ohio, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and John E. Sununu of New Hampshire - and two Democrats - Joseph R. Biden Jr. of Delaware and Patrick Leahy of Vermont.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/09/international/europe/09uzbek.html

Raising awareness of Uzbekistan calls attention to the dissonance between Bush's rhetoric about spreading freedom and the actual policy of getting in bed with brutal dictators. All Democrats should be talking about this whenever they have the chance. In addition to embarassing the White House, this issue can drive another wedge between the Republicans in Congress who are partially in touch with reality and those who have lost any grip on it.

Biden may be a loser most of the time, but he's onto something with this and the rest of the party is missing a huge opportunity by not jumping all over it.

[realFedUp]

1. I think it means the freedom to loot, rape and pillage...nt

[AX10]

2. When the police and government are allowed to..

ruin the lives of the innocent under the guise of "law enforcement", I think that there is no such thing as "freedom".