Mary Shaw: US Gets Bad Marks in Amnesty International Annual Report!

The latest Amnesty International Annual Report on the state of human rights in the world examines the human rights records of 159 countries, and our US got some bad marks this year, primarily related to to human rights violations in the "war on terror", and our continued use of the death penalty. US President Obama's 'promise' that the Guantanamo detention center would be closed by January 2010 was not fulfilled, according to the AI report. By the end of the year, 174 people remained held in prison. The only Guantanamo detainee so far transferred to the US mainland for prosecution in a federal court was tried and convicted. Two Guantanamo detainees were convicted by military commission after pleading guilty. Revised rules, issued in April, governing military commission proceedings for so-called "war on terror" suspects showed there was little hope that the US administration would make substantial reforms and uphold human rights. Also in the "war on terror", probably meaning the terror against American civilians, who were a few days late in sending their hush money to the Obama Administration, Obama failed to prosecute the instigators of torture and other human rights violations by the "Bush" administration. In the USA, those responsible for crimes under international law committed as part of the 'war on terror', such as torture and enforced disappearance, were NOT held to account!!