Research

In human rights talks with China last week, Obama’s envoys did not confront the Chinese regime’s repressive history that includes the slaughter of its own citizens, both born and unborn, and the ongoing use of slave labor camps and regime censorship of the media. Instead, they placated the Chinese leadership by suggesting that America is no better than China because we have our own human rights abuses in the form of Arizona’s new law intended to address the border crisis being ignored by Washington. In a press briefing following the talks, Michael Posner, Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor was eager to brag about making the outrageous comparison.

QUESTION: Did the recently passed Arizona immigration law come up? And, if so, did they bring it up or did you bring it up?

ASSISTANT SECRETARY POSNER: We brought it up early and often. It was mentioned in the first session, and as a troubling trend in our society and an indication that we have to deal with issues of discrimination or potential discrimination, and that these are issues very much being debated in our own society.

Sadly, this comment hardly comes as a surprise, since the Administration’s moral compass is continuously off base. This same administration believes American actions after 9/11 were “contrary to our traditions and our ideals,” an administration that rather than confront the Government of Turkey on reform said the United States “still struggles with the legacies of slavery and segregation, the past treatment of Native Americans,” an administration that believes international terrorists determined to destroy the United States should be given the same legal protections as United States citizens and an administration that believes the plight of the Palestinian people is comparable to the genocide of World War II.  

Unfortunately, there is a clear distinction between the elected government of Arizona passing a law to strengthen a broken and porous border and the repressive practices and abuses of the authoritarian Chinese regime. Apparently the Obama White House wishes to ignore the difference.