American Human Rights Reports Highlight Washington's Own Difficulties

The White House is one of the world’s most flagrant human rights violators. Yet time and again it presents itself as a referee on human rights, condemning as it sees fit over 100 countries, China included, for their “poor human rights records.”

It is clear that Washington bandies about “human rights records” which do not correspond to the facts. This naturally generates resentment and invites counterattacks by the countries affected, often giving rise to serious diplomatic crises.

Nevertheless, publicizing “human rights records” can also draw the attention of international and U.S. domestic media to the issue of “human rights,” thereby diverting and placating international public opinion and the intense dissatisfaction Americans themselves feel over Washington’s power diplomacy and errors of governance.

Out of its own sense of desperation, the United States courts danger and refuses to face reality. It repeatedly stirs up controversy, and in the process merely underscores Washington’s own domestic and foreign policy difficulties.

Obama is presently facing a number of such difficulties. The unemployment rate remains consistently high; the government’s finances have fallen into a bottomless abyss; the country has yet to free itself from the quagmires of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars; and it has again hit a dead end in Libya with no way out.

The U.S. debt has not only already exceeded Congress’ regulated upper limit of $14 trillion, but according to the 2011 budget it will increase by a further $1.65 trillion, posing a severe challenge to the status of the U.S. dollar. No wonder the Republican Party is constantly on the attack, and nearly succeeded recently in shutting down the government.

Even if Secretary of State Hillary Clinton turns around and decries “the worsening of China’s human rights,” “increasing suppression in Vietnam,” or “the expansion of Thailand’s internet censorship,” it will not do a thing to help the White House escape its current difficulties.

The Republican Party makes Obama look ridiculous. In the U.S. midterm election the Republican Party did very well, gaining control of the House of Representatives. And the mainstream American media has concluded that the president will have a rough time ahead. The recent debate between Congressional leaders and Obama over the budget spoke volumes.

Although Obama met long into the night with Speaker of the House John Boehner and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, the Republicans remained unmoved. The White House argued vigorously that the furloughs of 800,000 federal employees and an unmanned administrative services department caused by a government shutdown would have “disastrous consequences” in an attempt to increase pressure on the Republicans. But in reality it was not that the Republican Party did not know the consequences of a shutdown, it was deliberately making Obama look foolish.

As a result of the general condemnation of the attack on Libya, all Obama can do is defend his decision. In a speech at the National Defense University, Obama said, “U.S. military action in Libya was done to fulfill America’s promise to protect Libyan civilians” at the “authorization of the U.N.” and that “the attack is just.”

Soon after, however, he said the U.S. military is implementing “limited” military operations, and that the White House knows it cannot overthrow Gadhafi through military force, because that would require paying as high a price as that of the Iraq War.

Since Obama’s campaign promise of “ending the Iraq War as soon as possible” is still fresh in everyone’s mind, launching a new war now, for which the rationale is unclear, discredits the eloquent oratory he delivered in the past. The American media said that he gave a “disappointing speech” that “did not persuade even himself.”

Not even Washington’s mayor enjoys human rights

Vincent Gray, the mayor of Washington D.C., and several city council members were arrested and dragged away after going to Capitol Hill to protest the agreement reached by Democrats and Republicans on the 2011 fiscal year budget, showing that the police do not look upon the mayor with respect. With the mayor and council members treated so badly, it is easy to imagine what kind of human rights the average person enjoys.

According to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), without being aware of it Americans are often repeatedly searched by the government’s electronic equipment when passing through ports and airports. There are no limits on the U.S. Department of Homeland Security when confiscating travelers’ electronic devices, making copies of their content, or asking for personal private information, nor is there any relevant judicial system in place to supervise this.

This illustrates that Americans and travelers entering the country are all being deprived of their basic human rights. In the U.S. fight against terrorism, the more it fights, the more terrifying it becomes. Since the end of last year, the U.S. Transportation Security Administration has again raised the level of airport security, implementing X-ray scans on all travelers and warning that they cannot use religious excuses to refuse it.

This kind of full-body scanner displays an image of the person’s fully-exposed naked body, and has been met with widespread criticism. On another note, two Los Angeles police officers abducted a 25-year-old woman, hijacking her car and raping her; Seattle police beat and berate Latino suspects as they please; and Houston police beat a young black 15-year-old who was already on the ground. The fact that 1.7 million people are presently locked up in U.S. prisons illustrates that basic human rights are not guaranteed to the American people.