(Wall Street Journal) Editorial - Natan Sharanksy - a man who actually spent time as a Soviet political prisoner - described Amnesty's gulag analogy as "typical, unfortunately," for a group that refuses to distinguish "between democracies where there are sometimes serious violations of human rights and dictatorships where no human rights exist at all." On November 19, 2001, Amnesty issued one of its "Urgent Action" reports: "Amnesty International is concerned for the safety of Iraqi citizen Ahmad Hikmat Shakir, who is being held by the Jordanian General Intelligence Department." The pressure worked; Shakir was released and hasn't been seen since. Shakir is believed to be an al-Qaeda operative who abetted the USS Cole bombing and 9/11 plots. In its eagerness to suggest that every detainee with a Muslim name is some kind of political prisoner, and by extension to smear America and its allies, Amnesty has given the concept of "aid and comfort" to the enemy an all-too-literal meaning.
2005-06-07 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive