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15 November 2007 / Amir A Majid
Issue: 7297 / Categories: Features , Human rights
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Not so sacred cows?

The Bush administration has tested the loyalty of the true friends of the US, says Dr Amir Majid

I f one lines up American sacred cows, respect for the peace-promoting UN, habeas corpus and adherence to the rule of law are bound to front this queue. Unfortunately, to the utter dismay of friends of the US, these three sacred cows have been slaughtered by President Bush and his advisers. The Bush administration has tarnished the American image, violating ideals and leaving many Americans embarrassed to claim that they are the citizens of the land of freedom and liberty.

MARGINALISATION OF THE UN

It is a principle aim of the UN to “save succeeding generations from the scourge of war”. Before military action against Iraq began in 2003, the Bush administration was asking the UN to hurry up and authorise it and its partners to attack Iraq—an anomalous fidelity to the UN key objective.
When France threatened to veto this “authorisation” because she was genuinely not convinced that war was the only option, the

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Harneys—Maggie Kwok & George Weston

Harneys—Maggie Kwok & George Weston

Harneys senior leadership appointments

Freeths—Keith Browne & Jim Jordan

Freeths—Keith Browne & Jim Jordan

Freeths strengthens London Construction and Engineering practice with two strategic senior hires

Anthony Collins—Laura Moss

Anthony Collins—Laura Moss

Anthony Collins announces strategic hire to deepen skills base in the social business sector

NEWS
More than 100 teams from the legal and financial services sectors competed in five sports at the 51st Law Society RFC Festival of Sport earlier this month
Part-time status need only be an effective cause of less favourable treatment, rather than the sole cause, the Supreme Court has held in Augustine v Data Cars
Britain’s new acknowledgement that Israel’s occupation is unlawful, and accompanying settlement-goods ban and sanctions, is significant but overdue, argue Danny Friedman KC and Victor Kattan in NLJ this week
New planning fee rises, wider trade union access rights and a service-by-email trap feature in Stephen Gold’s latest Civil Way
Existing defamation law can respond to AI ‘hallucinations’, but allocating responsibility will prove harder where outputs reach users without human intervention
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