US-led terror war fuelling human rights abuses across globe: HRW

[NNN0LHI]

http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle.asp?xfile=data/theworld/2006/January/theworld_January429.xml§ion=theworld&col=

WASHINGTON - The US-led war on terror, which has led to charges of torture and inhumane treatment of detainees, is fuelling erosion of human rights across the globe, Human Rights Watch said on Wednesday.

US disregard for basic human rights standards in the name of combating terrorism had triggered a “copy cat phenomenon around the world,” Kenneth Roth, the executive director of the independent US monitor told a media conference while launching an annual report documenting rights issues in 68 nations.

Roth said he had queried Egyptian Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif last year about the rounding up and alleged torture of suspects following a bomb blast and “he said to me, really without batting an eyelash: “What do you want? That is what the United States does.’”

New evidence shows that torture and mistreatment are a deliberate part of the Bush administration’s counterterrorism strategy, hampering Washington’s ability to pressure other states into respecting international rights laws, the New York-based group said in the report.

[FloridaPat]

1. Wow. * is uniting the torturers. Didn't see that one coming.

[HysteryDiagnosis]

2. Just don't find yourself organizing labor in the war on terrah... you

could end up sleeping with the fish.... such good works we do... such good works... the chickens have come home to roost... pity the fool who didn't see it coming.

http://members.tripod.com/ranknfile/
SOA Training Manuals
Advocated targeting those who...

v do "union organizing or recruiting"
pass out "propaganda in favor of the interests of workers"
"sympathize with demonstrations or strikes"
make "accusations that the government has failed ... to meet the basic needs of the people".

Colombia: A Case Study of SOA Terror Tactics Against Unions

Consistently, the countries in Latin America with the worst human rights violations against labor leaders and others have received the most SOA training.

Colombia, for example, has sent over 10,000 military personnel to train at the School of the Americas -- more than any other single country. Tragically, the training has worked. Colombian SOA grads have left a trail of blood and suffering in their home country, and union membershave been a prime target. In the early 1990's, one Colombian trade unionist was killed every other day, 180 a year. By 1996, the numberincreased to 253. Of every 10 trade unionists killed in the world in recent years, 4 were from Colombia. SOA grads are trained to help lead the campaign of terror and intimidation against union members.

SOA Graduates Cited

United Nations Truth Commission Report

The UN Truth Commission Report on El Salvador, released March 15, 1993, cited over 60 Salvadoran officers for the worst atrocities during that country’s brutal civil war. Over two thirds of those named were alumni of the U.S. Army School of the Americas. For example:

3 of 3 cited for the murder of union leaders
2 of 3 cited for the assassination of Archbishop Romero
10 of 12 cited for the El Mozote massacre of 900 villagers
19 of 26 cited for the massacre of 6 Jesuit priests

[stillcool]

3. An excerpt from a book...

titled "Iran-Contra Connection..Secret Teams & Covert Operations in the Reagan Era by Jonathan Marshall, Peter Dale Scott, and Jane Hunter..... Of particular interest to me, and perhaps in reference to the OP is this little bit...

But there is another troubling aspect to such covert commitments. Allen Dulles, CIA director at the time of the Bag of Pigs invasion, called it the 'disposal problem'. What do you do with an army of trained, armed, indoctrinated and fiercely committed warriors once you no longer need them? How do you contain or safely vent their anger, resentment, and energy?
Drugs,terrorism, political destabilazation: The American people and , indeed, people throughout the world, have paid a heavy price for the US government's unleashing a war it could not contain. The contra war is far from concluded, but already it shows all the signs of producing a monster that will attack it's creator."

[Telly Savalas]

4. What's screwed up is that these human rights abuses

in turn fuel terrorism. If a government keeps its nose clean and respects human rights, it becomes a lot more difficult for terrorist organizations to find new members who hold a grudge against the governments.

By the way for those following the Canadian election:

Human Rights Watch said while there was a need for vigorous enforcement of human rights norms by other powerful nations, Britain and Canada compounded the lack of leadership by trying to undermine critical international rights protections.

Thanks, Mr. Martin. And you know damn well that Mr. Harper doesn't give a shit either.