Obama rights record questioned ahead of Nobel prize

[The Northerner]

Source: Reuters

Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International urged Obama to use his acceptance speech on Thursday to renew U.S. leadership on human rights after its position was undermined by abuses committed during the Bush administration's war on terrorism.

...

But Amnesty and Human Rights Watch said this pragmatism had sometimes come at the expense of speaking out about human rights in countries like China, Washington's biggest creditor and a major player in efforts to tackle the financial crisis.

"He has created a false choice between having to speak out forcefully on human rights or being pragmatic and getting results on other issues," Amnesty International USA Executive Director Larry Cox told Reuters in an interview.

...

Amnesty and Human Rights Watch give Obama high marks for acting swiftly to announce the closure of the military prison at Guantanamo Bay, an end to the CIA's secret detention program, adopting a multilateral approach to diplomacy, and reaching out to the Muslim world.

But they fault him for failing to do enough to address specific human rights cases.

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE5B82TM20091209?type=politicsNews

[katandmoon]

1. Obama can never lead on this issue without being a laughingstock as long as he's

protecting BushCo's criminal ass.

[EFerrari]

2. Honduras.

[ixion]

3. A 'war president' accepting a peace prize is ludicrous

so I'm glad to hear people questioning it.

[Iowa]

4. Shielding torturers, war-mongering, blatant corporatism, trashing civil liberties...

This is a Nobel prize for oratorical skills, and it greatly diminishes the value of the award for those who have truly earned it. If he had any sense of decency or honor, he'd declare that he is unworthy and decline.

[customerserviceguy]

5. I'm beginning to think

that the Democratic nomination and the Presidency were prizes for oratorical skills, myself.

[Name removed]

6. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Kingofalldems]

7. I see that punk seriousstan is back again