Bush's Memoir: A reminder of human rights abuses

-

By Hanan Habibzai

Former US President George W Bush appeared once again in news when he launched his memoir earlier last week.

In his book Mr Bush clearly mentioned direct orders for water boarding terror suspected prisoners.

This apparently becomes a reminder for human rights activist who already launched protests against Bush’s recent remarks.

According, Hoffingdon Post The American Civil Liberties Union joined a growing chorus in the human rights community calling for a special prosecutor to investigate whether former president George W. Bush violated federal statutes prohibiting torture.''

Former US president strongly defended the use of water boarding and denied it amounted to torture, as critics and some allies claim. It’s appeared very delighted for some critics of Mr Bush's policies when the British Government has long regarded it as a form of torture.

UK Prime Minister David Cameron Asked whether US use of water boarding had prevented attacks in the UK, he added:

"Look, I think torture is wrong and I think we ought to be very clear about that. And I think we should also be clear that if actually you're getting information from torture, it's very likely to be unreliable information."

The daily Mirror has reported Mr Cameron's reacted to the Bush's comment. The Prime Minister suggested that the use of torture - and the incarceration of suspects in Guantanamo Bay without trial - could be counter-productive, by encouraging support for terrorists.

Speaking during a round of broadcast interviews in Seoul, Mr Cameron said: "I think there is both a moral reason for being opposed to torture - and Britain doesn't sanction torture - but secondly I think there's also an effectiveness thing about what he said.

"Thirdly, I would say if you look at the effect of Guantanamo Bay and other things like that, long-term that has actually helped to radicalise people and make our country and our world less safe, so I don't agree."

Sydney Morning Herald writes, George Bush, who took America into two wars, backed ''water boarding'' of terrorism suspects, was labelled a racist by a black entertainer over his response to Hurricane Katrina and went against his belief in the free market to bail out Wall Street, says he hopes that his presidency will ultimately be judged a success but he does not expect to be around to learn the verdict.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Afghanistan: “It’s Just Damage Limitation Now”

-
By Mark Thompson Source:  time.com   Briton Ben Anderson is a documentary filmmaker (the BBC, HBO, the Discovery Channel), but he turns to the written word in No Worse Enemy : The Inside Story of the Chaotic Struggle for Afghanistan . The book offers a gritty – and grim — assessment of the war. Anderson embedded with U.S. and British troops for months in the southern part of the country from 2007 to 2011. He details corruption, incompetence, fear — by both allied troops and Afghan civilians — and a Groundhog Day kind of existence., where a battle fought for days has to be fought again, later. Most distressingly, he argues that the American and British publics are getting a misleading picture of progress on the ground. Battleland conducted this email chat with Anderson last weekend. Why did you write No Worse Enemy: The Inside Story of the Chaotic Struggle for Afghanistan? I’d been travelling to Helmand for five years, first in 2007 with the Brits, t...
Read more

China bans a painkiller, Dextropopoxyphene

-
Image
By Hanan Habibzai Chinese authorities ordered ban on medicines that contain Dextropropoxyphene, a painkiller. The country’s drug watchdog agency warned that medicines, which have negative side effects, may create a potential threat to the life of citizens. A statement issued earlier this week by the State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) urged the market, the medicine should be withdrawn. The statement suggests that all companies should stop production, marketing and usage of Dextropropoxyphene, from July this year. The Dextropropoxyphene, used for decades in China, has serious toxic side effects on the heart and could be fatal in high doses, said a press release.The withdrawal will allow a safe transfer of patients to appropriate alternative therapies, the statement added. The decision is based on the outcome of both domestic and overseas research, and the instruction of Chinese experts.According to medical analysts in Europe, there have been concerns about the safety of thi...
Read more

There are non-Taliban poets in the 'Poetry of the Taliban’

-
Image
By Hanan Habibzai It is truly a matter of controversy as it appears that non-Taliban Afghan poets are presented as Taliban. It is a matter of shock to read in the Independent that Ezatullah Zawab, a permanent journalist and poet, is Taliban poet. It is still unclear how many more (non-Taliban names) are there in the ‘ Poetry of the Taliban ’. Zawab is not a Taliban but a critic of the US-led invasion of Afghanistan and the continuous political and social corruption within Karzai’s government. He studied at the Nangrahar University, working as a freelance journalist since 2001 in eastern Afghanistan. His reports mainly published by IWPR and the Pajhwok Afghan News . He was among the first journalists who covered the killing of tens of civilians in June 2008 where American-led air-strike bombed a wedding convoy in Shinwari district in eastern Nangrahar province killing more than 55 civilians including the bride. Most of the victims were children and women. In the aftermat...
Read more