Saturday, May 31, 2008
Shocker of the day: "state sponsor of terrorism" is political
In news about as shocking as Scott McClellan's "revelation" that the Bush Administration waged a propaganda war on the American people, AP reports today on the political nature of the "state sponsor of terrorism" designation. I wouldn't even mention it, except for the unintentional humor at the end of the article:
State Department spokesman Tom Casey said: "It [being put on the list] is based on a very specific legal standard, and, whether it's Venezuela or any other country, if they meet that standard, they'll be put on that list, and if they don't, they won't."Ri-i-i-i-ght. North Korea, who may be about to be removed the list, is on the list because it was implicated (not proven by a longshot) in the bombing of a South Korean airliner 20 years ago. The "legal standard" by which Cuba is on the list stretches even further, involving such charages as "not supporting the U.S. 'war on terror'", by which is meant that Cuba opposed the U.S. invasion of Iraq.
Needless to say if there were real "specific legal standards," then a country which actively protects wanted terrorists from extradition to stand trial for their crimes, and even allows them to have public parties in the honor, would be first on the list.
