Their Latest Obsession

Bloomberg reports on Amnesty International's 2004 Human Rights Report.

``Callous, cruel and criminal attacks by armed groups such as al-Qaeda pose a very real threat to the security of people everywhere,'' Khan said. ``It is also frightening that the principles of international law and the tools of multilateral action which could protect us from these attacks are being undermined, marginalized or destroyed by powerful governments.''

Amnesty's annual report, which covers human rights issues for 2003, criticizes the ``excessive use of force'' by U.S. troops in Iraq, and their abuse of detainees in the country. It also says that governments have been ``obsessed'' with Iraq, allowing human rights violations elsewhere to be left unchecked. Some of the worst atrocities have taken place in ``festering conflicts in places like Chechnya, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan and Nepal,'' Amnesty said...

Amnesty's report says people last year were tortured or ill- treated by authorities in 132 countries, including the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Brazil, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, China, Japan and South Africa. People were ``disappeared'' by state agents in 28 countries and unlawful killings were carried out in 47 nations.

Welcome to the new world order.

Call me a cynic, but I find the timing of this press release more than a little suspect. George W. Bush simultaneously sees his poll numbers shrinking like the Lusitania, AND faces the cold, hard reality that his exercise in, uh, elocution, I guess, was greeted with a yawn So Ashcroft and Mueller slink out of the darkness to tell us that, hey, the terrorists are REALLY out to get us...no, trust them, they really are.

What was it that Goering said? Something about wrapping yourself in the flag, claiming that the enemy is out to get you, and accusing anyone who opposes you of being treasonous?