This is one not to miss - and it indicates what might happen if the oo-la-la Hillary gets in as she and Bill are the couple deluxe for "making" big points with foreign dictators who they try to "dust up" into "supporters of democracy". Big, big buck$ in that manoveur.
Question really is: Arms to protect whom? YOU and me, surely NOT.
Who, just who, is oversighting these guys? I ask you ..
I think I should start a new category called
Arms sales to dictators increase under Bush
by Daisy Cutter [Subscribe]
Wed Jan 03, 2007 at 03:21:17 PM PST
Among Bush apologists, there is somewhat of a myth that the Bush administration is somehow different from old conservative realists in that they put pressure on authoritarian regimes to improve their human rights practices and generally put "freedom over stablity". Michael Rubin in particular recently made the claim that Bush puts fear into the hearts of even long-time allies such as Mubarak. He makes the laughable claim that Egypt's elections were a victory for Bush's "pro-democracy" policy, despite the subsequent crackdowns and arrests of dissidents.
We can now officially put the myth of a democracy promoting Bush administration to rest:
- Daisy Cutter's diary :: ::
In the five years since the Sept. 11 attacks, the Bush administration has solidified a trend of supplying high technology weapons and millions of dollars in military assistance to allies in the "war on terror." "We’ve found that in exchange for support of U.S. efforts to stamp out international terrorist networks or operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, the United States is sending military assistance to countries with poor human rights records, lack of democracy, and even past support of terrorism, " said Center for Defense Information Senior Analyst Rachel Stohl. "This is an alarming trend," Stohl added.
...
On average, countries have received 50 percent more U.S. weaponry and military training in post-Sept. 11 years than in pre-Sept. 11 years. This trend has been dominated by marked increases in Foreign Military Financing (FMF) and Direct Commercial Sales (DCS) specifically. On average, countries are receiving 80 percent more FMF and DCS since FY 02 than prior to FY 02. The increase in FMF and DCS demonstrate that both the U.S. government and U.S. defense industry are reaping the rewards of the increased sales.At the same time that U.S. military assistance is increasing, the poor human rights situations in many countries have not improved since the start of the "war on terror" (and in some cases have become worse). In 2005, alone, the State Department reported that "serious abuses" were committed by the government or state security forces in more than half of the countries examined in this series.
From this link you can view some reports on separate countries with spotty human rights records and their relationship with the US since September 11. In this diary I will only focus on a couple of countries, beginning with Armenia:
The U.S. State Department’s 2005 Human Rights Report concluded that, despite limited improvements, the human rights situation in Armenia remains quite poor. Freedom of assembly and religion are somewhat limited and, although there is no official censorship, many journalists practice self-censorship. Security forces continue to engage in torture and arbitrary detention, and the courts are subject to political pressure from other branches of the government. Corruption is acknowledged as endemic in all branches and levels of government. Armenia has no laws against domestic violence, which is believed to be widespread, and human traffickers continue to use Armenia as a trafficking corridor. Although the U.S. State Department’s 2005 Terrorism Report noted "few perceived terrorist threats" in Armenia, the country’s porous borders allow it to be used as a corridor for the trafficking of, "illicit materials, persons, and finances." The report also made mention of Armenia’s "deepening political and economic ties with neighboring Iran" and its relations with Syria as points of potential concern.
How do you suppose an Uncle Sam who cares about human rights and open societies might treat such a country? Not as you'd expect:
Military aid to Armenia since Sept. 11, 2001, mirrors that of its neighbor and rival, Azerbaijan, both of which the United States now views as partners in the "global war on terror." Armenia was one of six countries (along with Azerbaijan) that had U.S. sanctions against it removed in the immediate aftermath of the attacks.2 The arms sanctions were lifted despite the fact that the Nagorno Karabakh conflict was still unresolved (the justification for imposing the sanctions). Armenia immediately began receiving IMET funding and FMF in FY 02, with assistance totaling $75,000 and $4 million, respectively. In FY 03 these numbers rose to almost $700,000 and $5 million, and funding for these two programs has remained relatively consistent since, with another $790,000 for IMET and $3.5 million for FMF requested for FY 07. Although commercial weapons sales to Armenia did not experience a significant escalation after 2001 (only $63,000 of DCS licenses have been issued between FY 02 and FY 05), $12.1 million of defense articles have been transferred under FMS licensing during the same period. Additionally, Armenia received $332,000 in Anti-terrorism Assistance (ATA) through the Non-proliferation, Anti-terrorism, Demining, and Related Activities (NADR) account in FY 05, and is slated to receive over $1 million more in FY 06 and FY 07. Whereas, before Sept. 11, Armenia had received no military assistance whatsoever from the United States, the country received more than $30 million between FY 02 and FY 05 alone, with an estimated $12 million more slated to go to Armenia in FY 06 and FY 07.
Next comes Azerbaijan:
the U.S. State Department’s 2005 Human Rights Report classified Azerbaijan’s human rights record as poor and reported that the government continued to commit human rights abuses against its citizens. Moreover, corruption is endemic at every level of government, specifically within the law enforcement sector, and the executive branch continues to dominate the political system, which is marked by a lack of checks and balances and a merely nominal division of power. Arbitrary arrest is common and there are credible reports of torture being used on detainees. The mass media and civil society do not enjoy freedom of speech or the press and there are documented cases of harassment of and violence against journalists. All organizations – including political parties, religious groups, and NGOs – are required to register with the Ministry of Justice and while many are able to do so without incident, certain NGOs were unable to register, and others that were registered were intimidated by the government. Although freedom of assembly was restored for the first time since 2003, it was systematically restricted around the time of the November 2005 parliamentary elections. In the run-up to the November 2005 parliamentary elections, Aliyev issued two presidential decrees stressing the importance of these elections complying with international election standards; the decrees notwithstanding, monitors still reported "major irregularities and fraud" during the elections. The U.S. State Department noted in its 2005 Terrorism Report that Azerbaijan "aggressively" pursued and prosecuted suspected terrorists, convicting six men in February 2005 that were allegedly involved in "al-Qaeda Caucasus" and plotting an attack on the capital. However, Azerbaijan’s lax border security allows for its continued use as a corridor for the transit of terrorists as well as their money and weapons.
Now why on Earth would we aid such a state?
Despite the flawed elections, Azerbaijan has become considerably important to U.S. interests due its strategic geographical position (the country serves as a bridge between Western Europe, Eurasia, and the Middle East) and its rich energy resources. Congressional budget documents refer to Azerbaijan as, "a vital link in the Trans-Caspian energy corridor." In 1994, Azerbaijan signed a major oil contract with the Western Oil Consortium, which marked a major breakthrough in Azerbaijan’s integration into the world economy, and also marked a significant change in the post-Soviet power balance in the Caucasus region. The Shahdeniz gas field (discovered in 1999) is expected to diversify the regional gas supply that currently comes predominately from Russia, and a Baku-Tbilisi-Erzerum gas pipeline which is currently under construction. The development of its domestic gas industry, in addition to the completion of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline in May 2005, has further strengthened the economic independence of Azerbaijan.
I'm beginning to notice a pattern here:
There was once a time when I wondered why people rolled their eyes whenever our leaders preached to the rest of the world about democracy and human rights. By now, every single American should know why.
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