by Editor (Editor's Desk, Crescent International Vol. 38, No. 11, Muharram, 1431)
US President Barack Obama’s January 22 deadline for closing the Guantanamo torture chamber has come and gone. The announcement was made with great fanfare a year ago trumpeting return of the rule of law and Obama’s supposedly changed approach to governance.
Nearly 200 prisoners remain in a legal and political limbo. Of these, the US plans to hold about 50 indefinitely, without the benefit of even a farcical trial; so much for Obama’s rule of law and America’s “moral” principles. They will not be charged or tried in any court because no conviction can be secured. But they will not be released.
There is an equally interesting and revealing episode of US students in California who had protested last December against increased tuition fees. They held completely peaceful protests. Yet, about 60 have been arrested by the police and some are even threatened with not being allowed to take their exams. Other restrictive measures are also contemplated.
Contrast this with the US attitude toward the rioters and hooligans in Iran whom the US is backing. Even Obama demanded that their rights be protected. What about the rights of American students holding perfectly peaceful protests, as opposed to the hooligans in Tehran? Do American students have no rights?
What hypocrisy! No wonder people all over the world hate the US, even with a blackman as its president.
