Irrelevant No Longer?

The U.S. treatment of detainees in Iraq "might be designated as war crimes by a competent tribunal," warned acting United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Bertrand Ramcharan. In a Human Rights Commission report, Ramcharan urged that "protection arrangements be strengthened" by appointing an independent human rights monitor in Iraq "immediately." The report also calls Saddam Hussein's ouster "a major contribution to human rights" and acknowledged "the good intentions of the Coalition governments." UN envoy to Iraq Lakhdar Brahimi didn't feel so generous, when he responded to a question about the U.S. role in forming the Iraqi interim government. Brahimi said U.S. Ambassador Paul Bremer "is the dictator of Iraq. ... I will remind you that the Americans are governing this country."