Just in case
Just in case you heard any of Bush or Cheney’s blatherings re: America’s horrid human rights record, heres the real deal:
At a Rose Garden press conference earlier this week, President Bush struck one of his favorite themes, asserting that “the U.S. is a country that promotes freedom around the world.” But the reality of U.S. arms sales policy contradicts Bush’s rhetoric.
The United States’ longstanding policy of arming, training and aiding some of the world’s most repressive regimes has accelerated during the Bush years. Increased weapons shipments have gone to allies like the authoritarian Uzbekistan and the thinly veiled military dictatorship in Pakistan; and to the Philippines and Colombia, where U.S. weapons and training have been turned against civilians.
These are not exceptional cases.</i>
Promoting Democracy Or Fueling Repression?
Frida Berrigan and William D. Hartung
June 02, 2005
