US Military Aid: Thai-ed to Torture
Amnesty International’s mission is “to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated.” Unsurprisingly, the organization’s latest report collects “first-hand testimony of survivors, court documents, medical records and various other forms of evidence relating to 74 cases of torture” in Thailand and urges that country’s legislature and military government to follow through on their claimed commitments to bring an end to the practice.
After Amnesty staff flew into Bangkok for the report’s official release, the regime threatened them with arrest for “visa violations” if the ceremony took place. Apparently the junta, which has ruled the country since a 2014 coup, is unfamiliar with the “Streisand Effect.” Their threats ensured that Amnesty’s report received more global attention on the morning of its release than it would likely otherwise have received altogether.
Among those who should take notice are American taxpayers, who fork over billions of dollars in direct and indirect military aid to the junta forces — weapons, cash, the positive cash flow associated with large US-sponsored military exercises like Cobra Gold, and the putative shade of a US “security umbrella.”
American law is clear on the subject of such aid. Per 22 US Code § 2378d, (“Limitation on assistance to security forces,” better known as the Leahy Law), “No assistance shall be furnished under this chapter or the Arms Export Control Act … to any unit of the security forces of a foreign country if the Secretary of State has credible information that such unit has committed a gross violation of human rights.”
Surely 74 cases of torture constitute such a gross violation — as does threatening human rights activists with arrest for talking about those cases of torture. Yet US military aid has continued to flow to the junta, albeit at a reduced rate for a short time.
As a libertarian, I oppose all US foreign aid for military purposes or any others. The only way the US government can give away that money is to first steal it from Americans (or borrow at interest on the promise to steal it later). Individuals who want to support the Thai junta should write those checks themselves instead of mugging the rest of us.
But failing that, it seems to me that the US government can AT LEAST stop throwing cash at torturers. It’s not just a good idea. It’s the law.
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Thomas L. Knapp (Twitter: @thomaslknapp) is director and senior news analyst at the William Lloyd Garrison Center for Libertarian Advocacy Journalism (thegarrisoncenter.org). He lives and works in north central Florida.
This might shed some light…
“Are you a ‘person’, an ‘individual’, or a ‘human being’? These words, at law, define you as being spiritually ‘dead.’ This is how the world makes its attachment to you. The terms, ‘person’, ‘individual’, ‘human being’, etc., are not in Christ. Words like “individual,” and “human being” do not even appear in scripture! These are ‘created’ terms by the natural man (1 Corinthians 2:14). These words describe the ‘old man’, but not the ‘new man’ in Christ (Colossians 3:9-10).
In Balantine’s Self Pronouncing Law Dictionary, 1948, page 389, Human Being is defined as “See Monster.” On page 540 of this same Law Dictionary, Monster is defined as “a human being by birth, but in some part resembling a lower animal.”
In Webster’s New World Dictionary, Third College Edition, 1988, pages 879-880, a Monster is defined as “a person so cruel, wicked, depraved, etc., as to horrify others.”
From the Random House Dictionary of the English Language, 2nd Edition, page 901, Human Being is defined as a “Natural man: unenlightened or unregenerate,” and on page 1461, Unregenerate means “not regenerate; unrepentant; an unregenerate sinner; not convinced by or unconverted to a particular religion; wicked, sinful, dissolute.”
In Webster’s New World Dictionary, Third College Edition, 1988, page 657, Humanitarianism is defined as “the doctrine that humankind may become perfect without divine aid.”
In Colliers New Dictionary of the English Language, 1928, Humanitarian is defined as “a philanthropist; an anti-Trinitarian who rejects the doctrine of Christ’s divinity; a perfectionist.”
And in the Random House Webster’s College Dictionary, 1990, page 653, Humanism is defined as “any system or mode of thought or action in which human interests, values and dignity predominate, especially an ethical theory that often rejects the importance of a belief in God.”
Therefore, when anyone calls himself or herself a ‘human being’, or a ‘humanitarian,’ they are saying (according to every definition of these words, and according to the law), “I’m an animal; I’m a monster; I’m not saved; I’m unrepentant; I’m an unregenerate sinner; I’m not converted; I’m wicked, sinful, and dissolute; I’m cruel, depraved, unenlightened; and I reject Christ’s divinity and the importance of a belief in God.” Dear reader, do you still consider yourself a human being?
The Septuagint uses the term “human beings” only one time, and its meaning is identical to the above definitions. Let’s look at the last verse of the book of Jonah, where Nineva was full of men who were unrepentant, unregenerate, unconverted, wicked, sinful, dissolute, cruel, depraved, unenlightened, rejected the importance of a belief in God. Or, in other words, “human beings.”
Jonah 4:11 (Septuagint), “and shall not I spare Nineve, the great city, in which dwell more than twelve myriads of human beings, who do not know their right hand or their left hand…?”
The “human beings” of Nineve did not know their right hand from their left because they did not know the Truth and were lost. They did not know God, they were separated from God. However, those human beings were willing to turn from their ways and learn the things of God, so He spared that city from destruction.
The term “human being” is also synonymous with the term ‘natural man.’
“The natural man is a spiritual monster. His heart is where his feet should be, fixed upon the earth; his heels are lifted up against heaven, which his heart should be set on. His face is towards hell; his back towards heaven. He loves what he should hate, and hates what he should love; joys in what he ought to mourn for, and mourns for what he ought to rejoice in; glories in his shame, and is ashamed of his glory; abhors what he should desire, and desires what he should abhor.” Thomas Boston, quoted in Augustus Toplady, Complete Works (1794, reprinted by Sprinkle Publications 1987), page 584.”
Now, if you really want to understand the big picture, follow through on who actually runs these “human rights” organizations…I am sure you will find your monsters there and they are doing a damned good job of protecting their human rights.
????? The response from sister uses scripture to attack people who are against torture. Thus scripture is evil or sister is severely misguided, Q.E.D.
Thomas, I guess stuff like this is what the Geneva Conventions are up against.
Much of what is written in the satanic old testament (Torah) Is Evil. I have come to notice that none of these “human rights” groups have accomplished anything, in fact they aid and abet the ongoing torture, rape and murder of innocent men, women and children all over the world simply by pretending to be the arbiters of righteousness.
So maybe we better take a closer look at what this word human means, where it came from and WHO BENEFITS from all the “human rights” watching.
A representative of the Saudi royal dictatorship was elected as the head of the UN human rights council. The Sauds are Zionist to the core. Look at what they have done to Yemen and how they fund the head chopping mercenaries (lead by zionists) all across the mid east. WHO BENEFITS? I’ll tell you who…the monsters, ie humans… those that were responsible for the murder of Christ, be it in the flesh or be it in the righteous teachings that are attributed to him. The ones who own all of the private central banks worldwide. The ones who own 95% of the media worldwide…come on…you know who I’m talking about. It’s obvious, they are not hiding a thing.
I’m tired of “investigators” simply pointing out problems as if that’s going to solve anything. It won’t. You have to find the root cause of the problem and in this case it might just be the actual meaning of the word “human”.
Please give me examples as to where I am wrong and tell me what good for the gentiles have any of these groups ever accomplished.
And you are correct, Mr. Boettger, I will NEVER be guided by Liars and Lie Believers such as yourself.
I am not a human. I am of mankind.
qed??? hardly shaquille. sister was merely pointing out the naivete exhibited by the author, and now you. to believe in the altruistic destiny or agenda of any governmental or NGO undertaking is a fool’s folly and left for those of limited curiosity and/or cognitive ability. to prosecute his agenda against torture and lawlessness using Thailand, while he is a citizen of a nation that murders and tortures millions around the globe, including its own, is testimony to that.
and yes, shaquille, scripture is in fact evil; it’s the greatest propaganda and social control mechanism ever devised by man, and likely to never be surpassed.
can i get an Amen to that?
Thanks for the backup Keysbum. I would give you an Amen but I don’t pray to Egyptian gods.