The Judge is Judged Guilty

Every year, the US State department publishes a report card on the human rights performance of other countries. Many countries, including our beloved Singapore are regularly criticized. Even her prominent citizens like Richard Gere like to pass judgment on the perceived human rights abuses of other countries.

In the case of Saddam Hussein, the judge went beyond criticizing. The proud dictator was apprehended, judged and soundly humbled.

But it appears that the judge has himself been found guilty of the same crime. In a BBC article dated 25 May 2005, titled, Amnesty Accuses US Over Torture, it was reported that; “In a 300-page annual report, the group accused the US government of damaging human rights with its attitude to torture and treatment of detainees”.

One of Saddam’s crimes was his use of chemical weapons against the Kurds in Iraq. But then, the US has also been found guilty of using chemical weapons for mass destruction, albeit of trees and foliage. On 29 April 2005, the BBC in an article entitled, The Legacy of Agent Orange, reported that during the Vietnam war, the US army sprayed 80 million litres of poisonous chemicals in Vietnam and Cambodia. The tragic results are felt even today.

I guess it’s a case of beholding the speck in another’s eye but perceiving not the beam in one’s own eye.