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Amnesty International: Absurd except when it isn’t

George W. Bush says allegations of abuse at Guantanamo Bay are the work of "people who hate America."

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As the folks at Think Progress note, the Bush administration has been more than happy to rely on Amnesty International’s work when it’s politically expedient — say, to make the case for invading Iraq. But it’s a different story now that Amnesty International has turned its attention to abuses by the United States.

Fighting off a sudden case of lame-duckness, George W. Bush held a press conference this morning in the White House Rose Garden, where he was asked about Amnesty’s new report detailing allegations of abuse of detainees at Guantanamo Bay. The president’s response: “It’s absurd. It’s an absurd allegation. The United States is a country that promotes freedom around the world.”

Bush said that the allegations were made by people — and we’re assuming that he was talking about the detainees, not Amnesty — “who hate America.” That much may be true, but it doesn’t make their allegations false.

By Tim Grieve

Tim Grieve is a senior writer and the author of Salon's War Room blog.

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