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 | | From: | Harry Hope | | Subject: | Tyrants are Bush's best friends. | | Date: | Fri, 21 Jan 2005 21:09:44 GMT |
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 | Jan. 21, 2005. 01:00 AM
From The Toronto Star, 1/21/05:
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1106261411294&call_pageid=970599119419
U.S. has lots of friends in undemocratic places
Inaugural rhetoric doesn't match first-term record Many close allies
in terrorism fight are rights abusers
GLENN KESSLER AND ROBIN WRIGHT
SPECIAL TO THE STAR
WASHINGTON--
U.S. President George W. Bush's soaring rhetoric yesterday that the
United States would promote the growth of democratic movements and
institutions worldwide is at odds with the administration's
increasingly close relations with repressive regimes in every corner
of the world.
The administration's band of allies in the war against terrorism --
including Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Uzbekistan -- are ranked
by the U.S. State Department as among the worst human-rights abusers.
Bush has proudly proclaimed his friendship with Russian President
Vladimir Putin while remaining largely mute about Putin's dismantling
of democratic institutions in the past four years.
The administration, eager to enlist China as an ally in the effort to
restrain North Korea's nuclear ambitions, has played down human rights
concerns there as well.
Bush's speech "brought to a high level the gap between the rhetoric
and reality in U.S. foreign policy," said Thomas Carothers, co-author
of a new book, Uncharted Journey: Promoting Democracy in the Middle
East.
"The rhetoric is seamless but the policy is very muddled. In fact, the
war on terrorism has pushed the U.S. to be friendlier with
non-democratic regimes," said Carothers, director of the democracy and
rule of law project at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
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"Throughout the history of mankind there have been murderers and
tyrants; and while it may seem momentarily that they have the upper
hand, they have always fallen. Always."
Mahatma Gandhi
Harry
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