It’s tempting to see Trump’s support for Saudi Arabia in the wake of MBS’ murder of Jamal Khashoggi as something new – a more cynical, transactional approach to USFP in which we excuse the atrocities of our allies so long as they serve our interests. 1/
But this has long been the de facto position of the Repub Party on human rights, with outliers such as former Rep. Chris Smith (R-CT), Mark Hatfield (R-OR), and Malcolm Wallop (R-WY), who supported efforts in the 1990s to condition US military assistance on HR grounds. 2/
Trump is in the Repub. mainstream in his utter dismissal of human rights as a principle that should guide US Foreign Policy (outside of Communist countries, etc.). What sets him apart is his declaration that the US stands for literally nothing but our commercial interests. 3/
The Nixon Admin watched with admiration as Pakistan committed genocide in 1971 to prevent Bangladeshi independence. As Gary Bass notes, “Nixon told Kissinger that the Indians needed ‘a mass famine,’” while Kissinger ‘sneered at people who ‘bleed’ for ‘the dying Bengalis.’ 4/
On Bangladesh, see: nytimes.com/2013/09/30/opi… Following the US-backed overthrow of Salvador Allende, Pinochet's govt not only tortured and murdered thousands, but in 1976 assassinated a former Chilean diplomat and US citizen on the streets of Washington DC. 5/
Though the CIA concluded that Pinochet “personally ordered” the killing, the Ford Administration did nothing. nsarchive.gwu.edu/briefing-book/…. 6/
In December 1975, Ford gave a green light for Indonesia to invade East Timor, blocked the UN from acting, and doubled US military assistance even as a genocide unfolded. Most Republicans (and many Democrats) remained mum. nsarchive2.gwu.edu/NSAEBB/NSAEBB1… 7/
The Reagan Admin. not only backed a murderous right wing governments in El Salvador and Guatemala but publicly blamed four American churchwomen who were abducted, raped, and murdered by US trained Salvadoran soldiers in 1980 for their own death. 8/
“The nuns were not just nuns,” Reagan advisor Jeanne Kirkpatrick said publicly at the time. “They were political activists.” politico.com/magazine/story…. US Secretary of State Al Haig publicly suggested the nuns had tried to run a roadblock. 9/
After US trained and armed Indonesian forces massacred at least 271 civilians in East Timor in November, 1991 and nearly beat two US journalists to death, the Bush Administration denied there even was a massacre, and publicly backed the Suharto regime’s account. 10/
One of the US journalists nearly killed in the massacre, Allan Nairn, testified before Congress. , though US intelligence reporting directly contradicted. etan.org/timor/nairndil…. Here, at least, some Repubs stood up and worked to end US military assistance to Indonesia. 11/
I could go on – and let’s not even get started on the Bush Administration after 9/11, which publicly backed torture, rendition, and other crimes against humanity on a global scale, with US allies engaging in similar crimes, while Republicans cheered openly. 12/
Historically, the Repub Party has opposed the idea that human rights should guide or constrain US foreign policy, and officials in Republican administrations have resisted efforts to use human rights abuses as justification for sanctioning US allies. 13/
What shocks so many people now Elliot Abrams recently wrote, “is that there is no visible wincing” by Trump when US allies murder and torture people. politico.com/magazine/story…. Its not the murder, or the public winking, but the lack of feigned concern that is the problem. 14/
Abrams was Asst Sect of State for Human Rights in December 1981 when US trained Salvadoran troops massacred more than 900 people in the village of El Mozote. He lied to Congress and flatly denied that the massacre took place, accusing HR groups of being Comm. sympathizers. 15/
We should stop suggesting that Trump is ‘betraying American values’ when he helps murderous US allies get away with their crimes. Human rights have never had broad purchase in US politics, and helping US allies get away with murder is as American as, well, pumpkin pie. 16/
Many scholars have written eloquently about the shallow US attachment to human rights ideas, including @samuelmoyn, @arakeys, @kathryn_sikkink and others. Many Americans *have* believed deeply, and worked to advance HR. But recent HR history that they are a minority. 17/END
