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Old 04-06-07, 09:50 PM   #16
Ishmael
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Join Date: Jan 2002
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JSLTIGER
Quote:
Originally Posted by fatty
Quote:
Originally Posted by SUBMAN1
Hmm. Wasn't the US criticized for using the same interrogation techniques? How come no one is jumping up and down about it?

-S
Human rights organizations do pick up on these things. The reason why there won't be a huge stink about it is that Iran is practically an authoritarian state. Articles like the OP are just icing on the cake; we have come to expect this kind of treatment from Iran. It's not news. Was anyone expecting the prisoners to be treated better than they actually were? I expected worse.

The US, on the other hand, is imbued with liberal principles - e.g. life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness - and other certain "unalienable" rights which, well, start edging on alienable when people get locked away and tortured without being given a reason. This is not really congruent with these principles, so it's more shocking for the public.
However, this raises the unanswered question, which is, are non-US citizens protected by the freedoms granted in the Constitution? This question has not yet been resolved, and until it is, the Bush administration will probably continue to operate under the assumption that non-US citizens do not have the Constitutional guarantees.
No. Technically they are not protected under the constitution. However, They are protected by the UN's Human Rights Charter, of which the US is a signatory and therefore bound by under international law. But then, what does this admin. care about human rights or international law?
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