The Good News in the Amnesty Report is that We're Not the Only Bastards on the Planet

The Amnesty International Human Rights 2007 report is fascinating and should not be ignored, but I'm confident that it will be dismissed by the Bush regime and its Right-wing apologists as "liberal propaganda." But it's not wrong and we all need to take it seriously.

The USA, unrivalled in military and economic terms in the region and the world, continued to maintain a dual discourse on human rights as it pursued its "war on terror". It claimed to be the leading force for the promotion of human rights and the rule of law, while simultaneously pursuing policies and practices that flouted some of the most basic principles of international law. In so doing, it undermined not only long-term security of which the rule of law is a central pillar, but also its own credibility on the international stage.

Any sensible person who reads this report should be horrified at American hypocrisy and arrogance.