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The US claims it is going to "respect human rights in its war on terror."

Which begs two questions:

  1. Does this mean the end of Guantanamo Bay, detention without charge or trial and the general practices of torture that it recently tried to offer the CIA immunity over?

  2. When did the war on terror become the sole property of the US? "...ITS war on terror."?

As for the answers:

  1. No they will not be closing Guantanamo Bay. They actually go as far as stating that it is "necessary in the war on terror".

  2. Admittedly the war on terror would not exist were it not for the US government and their determination to upset the entire non-christian world and control all of the oil within it. In the meantime I think that somebody should explain to the friends and relatives of the thousands of soldiers from other countries that they are now fighting a war that belongs to America for America.

The repeated claim is that they are no breaches of human rights occuring anyway. Whether this be the result of the US believing that they can treat anybody, anywhere in any way that they like or whether they actually believe for one second that there really are no human rights abuses going on, this practice has remained constant throughout this conflict.

Let's be realistic. We all know that this is one leopard that is not going to change its spots and this "vow" does not excuse anything that has happened in the past anyway. The crimes against humanity that have been committed must be answered to. We cannot simply forget them because the US has made a "promise" to stop doing it from now on.

War crimes are war crimes and war criminals are war criminals.

They should be tried as such.

Tuesday 20th June 2006 | AFP

The United States will pledge to respect human rights in its war on terror, according to the draft of a final statement prepared for an EU-US summit Wednesday, amid complaints from the Europeans about US treatment of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay.

The draft of the joint statement by US President George W. Bush and European Union leaders says: "Consistent with our common values, we will ensure that measures taken to combat terrorism comply fully with our international obligations, including human rights law, refugee law and international humanitarian law.

"We attach great importance to our ongoing in-depth dialogue and our common fight against terrorism and our respected domestic and international legal obligations," according to extracts of the text made available to AFP.

The text does not specifically mention Guantanamo. European governments and rights groups have called on the United States to shut down this prison camp on US territory in Cuba, complaining that inmates there are detained in legal limbo without being formally charged and without speedy trial.

Opponents of the camp have stepped up criticism since three inmates committed suicide four days ago.

The United States insists the Guantanamo prison is necessary in the "war on terror."

The draft is some 13 pages long and has four sections -- "promoting peace, human rights and democracy worldwide," "confronting global challenges including security," "fostering prosperity and opportunity" and "promoting strategic cooperation on energy and energy security, climate changes and sustainable development."

A diplomat close to the summit said the final statement could still undergo changes.

It does however appear to be designed to show the United States and the EU trying to paper over some of their differences. These include climate change, since the United States has refused to sign the Kyoto Protocol on curbing emissions of greenhouse gases.

"We will work more closely to address the serious and long-term challenge of climate change, biodiversity loss and air pollution and will act with resolve and urgency to reduce greenhouse gas emissions," the draft statement says.