We Are Above Their Level of Evil.

CNN reports that the UN Commission on Human Rights has been refused access to Guantanomo by the Bush Administration:

" 'The lack of a definitive answer despite repeated requests suggests that the United States is not willing to cooperate with the United Nations human rights machinery on this issue,' said the statement issued at a meeting of U.N. Commission on Human Rights representatives and experts."
"U.N. experts blast U.S. on Guantanamo"~CNN

The UK Guardian certainly didn't beat around the bush in their article,
"U.N. Uncovers Torture at Guantanamo Bay"

"They cited ``information, from reliable sources, of serious allegations of torture, cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment of detainees, arbitrary detention, violations of their right to health and their due process rights."

I'm not going to even quote Aljazeera and other sources...

Now I don't believe everything I read, hear, or see. It doesn't really matter what the Bush Administration says or how they defend all that is happening at Guantanomo. What matters to me is that the U.S. wants to win the hearts and minds of Muslims all across the world. What matters to me is that an image of America has been created that is contrary to our constitution and the truths we hold dear. What matters to me is that the Bush Administration celebrates the idea that America is a beacon of democracy, but continue to do things in such a way that we seem to be reinforcing the sort of shady tactics and heavy handedness that we say we are fighting against.

I remember when the war started and the Bush Administration told us that this was a different kind of war, that our enemy does not follow the same rules of conventional enemies. I do not deny the truth of that statement.

Even though we are fighting an enemy that doesn't follow the conventional rules of engagement of warfare, that does not mean we have the right to be as evil as them. If the only way we can win the war on terror is to throw out human rights and the Geneva Convention, we will lose something very precious. I don't want to be part of a great military power, but lose our goodness.

Thanks for reading,

AC  ¶ 1:23 AM