Amnesty International: Truth or Propaganda?

Is Amnesty International still interested in the truth about human rights, or has it become so politicized that we can safely ignore it?

It's a legitimate question, because Amnesty has subverted itself by jumping to conclusions formed by others with a political agenda, rather than getting to the truth. Amnesty used to be at the cutting edge. Now it's out of date, the tail of the dog, fat and lazy and politicized.

As we see in the entry below, Amnesty has been so out of touch on the Blackwater/Nisoor Square controversy that it didn't even know that the federal government is readying to prosecute guards for the September 16, 2007 incident.

Further into Amnesty's Nisoor anniversary "report," we find that the foundation really wants to put Blackwater out of business - an agenda set by Congressman Henry Waxman (D-Cal.) and moonbat writer Jeremy Scahill of The Nation.

Here's what Amnesty says in its "report": "Amnesty International USA has demanded that the State Department suspend contracts with contractors like Blackwater until it is clear that proper vetting mechanisms are in place to prevent further abuses."

Does Amnesty even know what the vetting mechanisms are? It gives no indication (they are amply documented among the more than 350 entries on this blog).

Waxman and Scahill can't seem to get much support from among fellow Blackwater critics. Scahill pointedly asked Senator Jim Webb (D-Va.) and Senator John Kerry (D-Mass.) if they would endorse pulling Blackwater's contracts, and both said no. Both said Blackwater should compete for contracts. Even Senator Barack Obama (D-Ill.) has privately said, as US News and World Report revealed, that he thinks Blackwater is "getting a bad rap."

But in Amnesty's case, it shouldn't matter what the politicians say. The organization made a good name for itself by sticking to facts and not jumping to politicized conclusions. That was the old Amnesty International. The new Amnesty isn't worth listening to any more.

(Graphic courtesy of thedissidentfrogman.com)

Key Support for Blackwater In Senate

Sources: Obama quote reported in July 25, 2008 US News & World Report: Webb and Kerry quotes elicited and made possible by Jeremy Scahill, DemocracyNow! website.

Senator Kerry Says He's OK with Blackwater

Senator John Kerry has joined Senator Jim Webb in rebuffing calls for the US to ban Blackwater. Like Webb, Kerry is a sharp critic of Blackwater - but says that the company should be allowed to compete for contracts.

Kerry's comment further isolates House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Henry Waxman, who is the only senior member of Congress to say he wants to force Blackwater out of the government contracting business.

The Massachusetts senator indicates he has no problem with Blackwater's security services in Iraq, as long as the company operates under the same rules as everyone else.

Anti-Blackwater gadfly Jeremy Scahill posed questions to congressmen and senators at the Democratic National Convention to elicit comments against the firm. Here's the transcript as copied from the DemocracyNow! website:

JEREMY SCAHILL: Senator Kerry, should Blackwater be banned? Senator Kerry, you’ve been aggressive on Blackwater recently. Do you think they should be banned?
SEN. JOHN KERRY: I’m not having a press conference right now. I’ve got to get to an airport, because I have to go to a funeral.
JEREMY SCAHILL: Just answer the one question. I know you know about this.
SEN. JOHN KERRY: I need to—I need—I’m not doing this right know. That’s all.
JEREMY SCAHILL: It’s a simple yes or no. Do you think they should be banned—Blackwater, the mercenary company—from operating in Iraq?
SEN. JOHN KERRY: No, I don’t think they should be banned. I think they need to operate under rules that apply to the military and everybody else.
JEREMY SCAHILL: But it’s OK if Senator Obama continues to use them, if he wins the presidency?
SEN. JOHN KERRY: You guys, I’m not—this is not the moment.

Senator Webb Won't Back Waxman; Says Blackwater Should Still Compete for Contracts

Senator Jim Webb won't back Congressman Henry Waxman's call for the US government to cancel Blackwater's contracts.

Moonbat writer Jeremy Scahill buttonholed politicians at the Democrat National Convention this week for a left-wing website. While getting Waxman to make his unprecedented call to cut off Blackwater - and receiving some praise for his own work against the company - Scahill didn't get Senator Webb to say the same.

To the contrary: Despite all his criticism of the company, Webb says he thinks Blackwater should still compete for contracts. Here's the dialogue:

JEREMY SCAHILL: "Do you think that, though, that Senator Obama should cancel Blackwater’s contract with the State Department, because it will be there if he wins? What should he do on Blackwater specifically?"

SEN. JIM WEBB: "I’m not—I mean, I’m not in a position right now to say that Blackwater’s contract specifically should be cancelled. I think all of them should be aggressively reviewed and, you know, have standards put on them, and I think Blackwater, like other companies, ought to compete."

Webb's Office Clouds Issue In Disputing Junket Report

Senator Jim Webb's office is disputing a report in Human Events that he is using Blackwater as an excuse to retaliate against the Pentagon for not giving his wife and child a free trip to Asia.

But Webb only clouds the issue further. His press secretary's response looks like the senator is digging in his heels rather than coming clean.

Webb's press secretary, Kimberly Hunter, told the reporter that while the senator and Defense Secretary Robert Gates did talk about travel plans for family members on military aircraft (why a United States senator would raise this with the Secretary of Defense is beyond me, but that's another matter). The real issue, she says, is an apparent reluctance or slowness on DoD's part to answer questions about Blackwater. The evidence, though, shows otherwise.

Reporter Erick Erickson, who broke the story, writes a piece today containing Hunter's response and adds:

"I appreciate Ms. Hunter’s response and forwarded to my original sources on the Hill as well as several individuals off the Hill. Ms. Hunter notes that 'travel policies relating to dependents' were discussed and that 'Senator Webb will have additional information on that topic.' Additional sources coming forward to me, however, suggest that the hold is related to the family travel issue and that Sen. Webb 'strongly hinted' at that in his conversation with Secretary Gates.

"Ms. Hunter noted that Sen. Webb worked in the Pentagon for five years. As such, multiple Executive Branch sources who saw Ms. Hunter’s response to me, as well as Secretary Gates’s original letter, said that Senator Webb should have picked up, either in Secretary Gates’s letter or their phone call, that Secretary Gates has been more than willing to give Senator Webb a detailed briefing on the matter. In fact, in Secretary Gates’s letter, he wrote, 'I have asked the Department of the Navy to brief you on this particular contract with Blackwater Lodge.'

"Interestingly, individuals in the Executive Branch were not willing to discuss, on or off the record, Sen.Webb’s holds until they saw his press secretary’s response. On background, I was told there has never been a hold placed on any nominee for any comparable reason, especially when the Secretary of Defense is willing to provide written responses and to send over Navy officials so that Sen. Webb can be briefed and pose questions to the experts.

"Both sources on and off the Hill familiar with the situation strongly maintain that the hold is directly related to the Pentagon’s refusal to pay for Sen. Webb’s wife and child’s travel. Sen. Webb has now been told 'no' twice.

"Said one source, 'Ms. Hunter is right and wrong. Secretary Gates did not provide detailed answers to the senator’s questions. Rather, he offered to send over someone who had knowledge of the program and could more readily answer both the questions posed and the questions raised by the answers. It was not a matter of declining, but a matter of trying to help Sen. Webb get a thorough understanding of the matter beyond what could be done in a letter. Sen. Webb just didn’t like the answer to his travel question.'"

Senator Webb Uses Blackwater As Excuse to Get Free Travel for Wife and Kid

Senator Jim Webb says he's holding up the nominations of four Pentagon officials because the Defense Department isn't giving him answers about Blackwater, but the real reason seems to be that he's cranked that DoD won't fly his wife and child to Southeast Asia at taxpayer expense.

Webb's third and current wife is a native of South Vietnam.

The Virginia Democrat's request for their free travel on a Senate junket is in violation of Senate rules and Defense Department policy.

"A Senate Republican aide said, 'Webb is suggesting that he is holding nominations as punishment for not getting answers back from questions relating to Blackwater, but in reality, it is leverage to get the Secretary to let his wife and eighteen month old both accompany him on this trip,'" Erick Erickson writes in Human Events.

"With the Secretary of Defense’s admonition to Senator Webb that 'Senate travel is governed by a memo signed by the Senate leadership dated March 9, 2007, specifically stating that relatives other than spouses are not permitted to travel with Senate delegations' and 'DoD Directive 4515.12 prescribes policy for DoD travel support for members of Congress' in a manner reflecting the Senate policy, Senator Webb has run out of legitimate reasons for his holds," Erickson reports.