HRs watchdog slams US “bankrupt” vision; army cites wider abuse

By: Nabil Raza

LONDON: Human rights watchdog Amnesty International said in its annual reports Wednesday the United States has proved “bankrupt of vision and bereft of principle” in its fight against terrorism and invasion of Iraq.

While also damning of rights violations in dozens of other nations, the London-based organization’s 2004 report particularly targeted the US-led “war on terror” for sanctioning abuses in the name of freedom.

The 339-page document, which detailed the human rights situation in 157 nations and territories, reserved the most column inches for the United States, with damning criticism also meted out to global giants Russia and China. Other perennial violators were also highlighted such as North Korea, Cuba and the central Asian state of Turkmenistan.

Elsewhere, Amnesty detailed a long list of abuses by Russian security forces in Chechnya. In the Middle East, both Israel and the Palestinian Authority were taken to task for alleged rights violations, with Amnesty saying that some actions by the Israeli army, such as the destruction of property, “constituted war crimes”. It also slammed Iran and Saudi Arabia for human rights violations in their countries.

In Washington, The New York Times reported Wednesday that a US Army synopsis of deaths and mistreatment involving prisoners in American custody in Iraq and Afghanistan shows a pattern of abuse involving more military units than previously known.

Meanwhile, British Prime Minister Tony Blair played down apparent differences between Britain and the United States over coalition involvement in Iraq after the June 30 transfer of power.

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