Spare Me The Sanctimonious Human Rights Handwringing Over Jamal Khashoggi

We have ignored Chinese atrocities in Tibet, its imprisonment of dissidents and journalists, and its generally repulsive human rights record for decades. In fact, on her first mission as Secretary of State, Hillary Pay to Play Clinton was sent to China by the previous president to deliver the message that the United States will gladly ignore China’s abuses as long as it continued to finance America’s debt.

In the wake of a coup attempt, Recep Erdogan’s purging of journalists actually put Turkey in the number 1 slot of journalist imprisonments over China. The response from the previous president was to, according to senior administration officials as reported by the New York Times, to give Erdogan a “shout out” for surviving the coup attempt against the most repressive anti democratic leader in Turkey in my lifetime. Maybe it was their common hatred of Israel that kept their friendship alive...🤔

Iran’s mullahs run an oppressive theocracy that beats and incarcerates women for violating their medieval decency laws, and publicly hangs homosexuals from construction cranes. In spite of this, the previous president was lauded, praised and extolled for cozying up to Iran, giving it permission to develop nuclear weapons in a deal that everyone swears prevents Iran from having nuclear weapons...despite the reality that the exact opposite is true...terminating economic sanctions, and clandestinely flying over a billion dollars in cash to finance their terror operations in Gaza, Lebanon, and Syria.

Saudi Arabia has been a medieval backwater of repression for decades. In spite of this we buy its oil and kiss its rear. The previous president bowed down before its king, and made not one word of protest when this gross violator of human rights was made head of the UN Human Rights Council (in contrast to outgoing UN ambassador Nikki Haley whose repeated admonishment of the UN’s ignoring of human rights violations by the ranking members of the UNHRC is unprecedented). In fact, when it first came out that Saudi Arabia was poised to head the UNHRC, the Barry State Department was reported in the Washington Post as saying they would “welcome it.” Further, the relationship with the Saudis was seen by the previous administration as worth preserving enough for the president to fly there to kiss their tuchus, despite their unrelenting bombing of civilians in Yemen, when the Saudis became distressed about the president’s support of Iran, and its lack of action in Syria and against ISIS.

So forgive me if I find all the handwringing about Jamal Khashoggi being murdered...in Turkey...as a bunch of disingenuous posing designed to inflame the populace against the president (who has strengthened ties with the Saudis as part of the administration policy of isolating Iran as opposed to holding it up) leading up to the midterms. Numpty is president and suddenly everyone cares about human rights. It would be laughable if it wasn’t so pathetic.

In fact both the White House and the EU have expressed incredulity toward the Saudi tall tales regarding the Khashoggi murder...which now apparently is being couched as a slap fight gone wrong and ending with his corpse being wrapped in a carpet and being removed from the consulate while a Saudi agent left the building wearing his clothes to make it look like he was still alive. 

The White House is said to be considering sanctions against Saudi Arabia...I’m not holding my breath.

It would be nice if we didn’t live in a world where ignoring human rights violations was the price of business. Perhaps one day we will get there. But let’s not kid ourselves that the fourth estate gives one crap about human rights. It only cares about enabling the dictators it favors. And like clapping seals, the populace plays along and dances on their strings like Pavlov’s dogs.