‘US in no position to lecture other countries on human rights’

The United States is not in a position to lecture other countries on their human rights record because it is not a beacon of human rights, says Don DeBar, an American journalist and political analyst.

DeBar made the remarks in an interview with Press TV on Monday while commenting on Democratic Senator Chris Murphy’s criticism of Donald Trump over the US president’s decision to invite Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte to Washington.

The White House on Sunday defended Trump's invitation to Duterte, saying the Philippine leader’s cooperation was needed to counter North Korea.

“There is nothing right now facing this country and facing the region that is a bigger threat than what’s happening in North Korea,” White House chief of staff Reince Priebus said.

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Priebus said the outreach to Duterte “doesn't mean that human rights don't matter, but what it does mean is that the issues facing us developing out of North Korea are so serious that we need cooperation at some level with as many partners in the area as we can get to make sure we have our ducks in a row.”

“If we don’t have all of our folks together — whether they’re good folks, bad folks, people we wish would do better in their country, doesn’t matter, we’ve got to be on the same page” on North Korea, Priebus argued.

Criticizing Trump’s invitation to Duterte, Senator Murphy tweeted, “We are watching in real time as the American human rights bully pulpit disintegrates into ash."

'US needs Philippines to maintain its hegemony'

DeBar told Press TV that it is very interesting to see people like “Murphy lecture anyone about the human rights status of the United States on the global stage particularly in reference to the Philippines, which has been pretty much an American colony for the past 120 years."

“First of all, for the people who have been concerned that Trump isn’t aggressive enough towards China and Russia, or that Trump wasn’t interested in continuing US hegemony, a realistic policy towards the Philippines is absolutely required to further the hegemony of the United States along,” he added.

“Duterte has been showing independence from US foreign policy in a way that perhaps hasn’t happened since 1898. And his apparent willingness to align with China against the US on the so-called 'Pivot to Asia' is a real threat to US hegemony in Asia, meaning to US hegemony globally – Asia is pretty much the center of the globe for the next 100 years,” the analyst noted.

“In addition to that, the idea that the US is some kind of a beacon of human rights, that it's an example to the world, is ridiculous,” he said.

“Looking just at the places where it has been involved, was it a beacon of human rights in Syria? Or in Yemen? Or across the African continent?  Or Latin America?” DeBar asked. 

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www.presstv.co.uk