Sunday, August 28, 2016

Editorial: They all failed

We're used to calling out Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump.

But last week, they all failed.

That's Hillary, Donald, Jill Stein, Gary Johnson, Jerry White, Gloria La Riva, everyone running for president.

They all failed.

Why?

Because supposedly we are a nation of laws.

The laws apply to all of us.

Well, to everyone but Hillary.

But the rest of us.


And yet last week Ned Parker and Jonathan S. Landay (REUTERS) reported:




Shi’ite militias in Iraq detained, tortured and abused far more Sunni civilians during the American-backed capture of the town of Falluja in June than U.S. officials have publicly acknowledged, Reuters has found.More than 700 Sunni men and boys are still missing more than two months after the Islamic State stronghold fell. The abuses occurred despite U.S. efforts to restrict the militias' role in the operation, including threatening to withdraw American air support, according to U.S. and Iraqi officials.
The U.S. efforts had little effect. Shi’ite militias did not pull back from Falluja, participated in looting there and now vow to defy any American effort to limit their role in coming operations against Islamic State.
All told, militia fighters killed at least 66 Sunni males and abused at least 1,500 others fleeing the Falluja area, according to interviews with more than 20 survivors, tribal leaders, Iraqi politicians and Western diplomats.
They said men were shot, beaten with rubber hoses and in several cases beheaded. Their accounts were supported by a Reuters review of an investigation by local Iraqi authorities and video testimony and photographs of survivors taken immediately after their release. 




US law, treaties the US has signed onto and the Leahy Amendment all insist that the US cannot support a government who attacks its own people.

The Shi'ite militias are now part of the government.

Iraq's prime minister Hayder al-Abadi did that.


Sectarian abuse by Iraq Shia militia was even worse than believed (meaning downright awful).


So this is the Iraqi government attacking a segment of the Iraqi people.

And where was Gary Johnson?

And where was Jill Stein?


This is against the law.

How would they have handled it if they were president right now?

They want to be president.

So do Donald, Hillary, Jerry and Gloria.

So how would they handles this?

Would they respect the law or not?

Would they continue to fund and back the government that's attacking the Sunni people?


It's a perfect test, the perfect chance to step up.


And yet everyone them failed it.





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