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One of the core liberal principles is that human beings have certain rights.
Here in the USA we have the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
However, today we are seeing gross violations of human rights all over the world.
But sadly America and the Western democracies are looking the other way.
All throughout the Muslim world, atrocities are occurring every single day.
In general, women have few rights, children are routinely abused, and if you are a non-believer in Islam, you are beneath contempt in many places.
Of course ISIS is the poster group for human rights violations.
Yet no matter how many people they behead, set on fire, or slaughter in the streets, the reaction from the civilized world is muted to say the least.
Yesterday on Capitol Hill, Ashton Carter -- who President Obama has nominated as the new secretary of defense -- was asked this simple question by Senator John McCain:
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R-AZ): “Do you believe that we need to have a strategy to combat ISIS and the continued successes in many respects that they are achieving?”
ASHTON CARTER: “Absolutely.”
MCCAIN: “Do you believe we have a strategy at this time?”
CARTER: “I believe I understand our strategy at this time, Mr. Chairman.”
((EDIT))
MCCAIN: “What do you understand the strategy to be?”
CARTER: “I think the strategy connects ends and means, and our ends with respect to ISIL needs to be its lasting defeat.”
((EDIT))
MCCAIN: “Doesn’t sound like a strategy to me.”
Mr. Carter is a very smart man but he cannot invent a strategy to defeat ISIS.
And because the Obama administration does not have one, he was embarrassed at that hearing.
Tomorrow National Security Advisor Susan Rice will apparently set forth some kind of strategy to fight ISIS at the Brookings Institution in Washington.
We will lead with what she says.
Now last June 18th, I warned about the chaos in Iraq caused by ISIS and al Qaeda.
But little was done.
Then in the summer, we saw beheadings of American citizens by ISIS and the reaction was tepid to say the least.
Finally, President Obama has ordered ISIS to be bombed.
Okay.
He is also asking Congress for a new authorization to use military force against those barbarians.
He will get that, but then the president has to become engaged in the process, something he has been reluctant to do.
Well maybe this will shake him up.
A new report from the United Nations says ISIS is systematically killing torturing and raping children in Iraq.
The UN Security Council has expressed deep outrage.
More nothing.
In addition, Amnesty International has released a report saying that young girls ages 10 to 12 in Iraq are being tortured, raped, and forced into marriages with ISIS savages.
So again, whatever happened to human rights? Why is the world standing by and watching this take place?
Here in America, liberals should be pounding on the White House gate, yet they are largely silent.
Today in the New York Times, the lead editorial was not about ISIS atrocities.
No, it was about Abu Ghraib and how some Americans should be held accountable for what happened there 12 years ago.
The Times wrote that editorial because they fear the backlash against Islamic terrorism, so they want to make sure everybody remembers that the USA has committed atrocities, too.
There are also terror deniers on the right. We'll discuss that with Laura Ingraham later on.
In the end, thousands more people will die unless President Obama takes the lead in galvanizing the world to fight Islamic terrorism.
But so far the president will not even say those words, so Talking Points is not very hopeful.
And that's the memo.
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