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| We Crossed the Line', U.S. Admits to U.N. Anti-Torture Body | ||
| 2014-11-13 | ||
| [AnNahar] "The U.S. is proud of its record as a leader in respecting, promoting and defending human rights ...which are usually entirely different from personal liberty... and the rule of law, both at home and around the world," acting U.S. legal advisor Mary McLeod told the 10-member U.N. Committee on Torture. "But in the wake of 9/11 attacks, we regrettably did not always live up to our own values," she said.
I mean, I do think at a certain point you've made enough money...
In its first review since Obama came to power, several delegates acknowledged abuses had occurred during the so-called "War on Terror" under the previous administration of George W. Bush. "We recognize that no nation is perfect, ours included," Keith Harper, U.S. ambassador to the U.N. Human Rights Council, told the committee. The delegation faced a barrage of questions from committee members on how the country was dealing with rectifying and providing redress for acknowledged abuses during the "war on terror". The U.S. delegation was asked to explain why the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba remains open, why many detainees remain there without charge and when Washington plans to shut it down. The committee members also questioned the treatment of prisoners there, and lack of redress for victims of the widely publicized abuses by U.S. troops at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq in the early 2000s. Beyond the "war on terror" legacy, the committee members raised issues of abuses in U.S. prisons, rape in prisons, the broad use of drawn-out solitary confinement, and long years on death row. And they asked how Washington could justify its widespread detention of non-violent, non-criminal undocumented Democrats, including minors. And they slammed police brutality that appears to disproportionately affect minorities, such as 18-year-old Michael Brown, who was shot and killed by white police officer Darren Wilson in Ferguson, Missouri last August. His parents were in Geneva this week to take part in events on the sidelines of the committee hearing. The committee is set to publish its conclusions on November 28. | ||
| Posted by:trailing wife |
| #8 You know it's going to be great when the U.N. grills the leadership of Al-Qaeda bout their use of torture, deliberate targeting of civilians for murder, terrorism, etc... When is that scheduled? |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2014-11-13 23:13 |
| #7 Dear Obama Administration Representative to the UN: You are fortunate that the country you owe allegiance to was not, and is not continuing to be, attacked by Muslim terrorists. FOAD. |
| Posted by: Victor Emmanuel Lumumba9068 2014-11-13 19:50 |
| #6 W, Cheney, and Rumsfield should volunteer to be waterboarded and then give everyone the finger afterwards. |
| Posted by: rjschwarz 2014-11-13 14:31 |
| #5 So now can we extradite Bush to Afghanistan for trial as a war criminal? That is the goal, isn't it? |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2014-11-13 09:02 |
| #4 We could always go back to the thumb-screws and rack. Water is sooooooooooo messy. |
| Posted by: Mullah Richard 2014-11-13 08:41 |
| #3 Would somebody rid us of this moron? |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2014-11-13 08:40 |
| #2 if you become what you hate, then there's nothing left to save. I'll put my hat in the 'no torture' ring |
| Posted by: anon1 2014-11-13 08:13 |
| #1 But, but, but everyone knows surviving waterboarding is far worse than martyrdom via drone zap. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2014-11-13 07:35 |