Guantanamo Bay is “the gulag of our times,” that’s how the head of Amnesty International sums it up. She was talking about her organization’s recent report on the human rights abuses of the United States.
Her remarks have drawn furious rebukes from the Bush Administration. The president, the vice president, Secretary Rumsfeld and others have all denounced the report as irresponsible — and said it was published by people who “hate America.”
But beyond this war of words are real questions about how America’s human rights record is being shaped by the Administration’s “war on terror.” Amnesty is calling on the U.S. to open the doors of its detention facilities and investigate higher-ups responsible for abuse. The administration is refusing, insisting that due process is being followed and that it has nothing to hide.
Guests:
William Schultz, head of Amnesty U.S.A.
David Rivkin, lawyer with Baker & Hostetler LLP.