Does the US have the credibility to criticize police violence abroad?

Speaking Security Newsletter | Advisory Note for Organizers and Candidates, n°98 | 23 July 2021

If you find these notes useful, you can support this newsletter here and SPRI, here. Sharing these newsletters also helps. Thank you!

Situation

Global South to the rescue:

NBC News @NBCNews

Mexico will send two navy ships loaded with food and medical supplies to Cuba, foreign ministry says.

nbcnews.toMexico is sending navy ships with food, medicines to CubaAre the protests in Cuba a moment in time or the start of a movement? NBC News and Telemundo’s José Díaz-Balart will moderate discussions with those on the front lines fighting for change. Guests include actors, Andy García and Laz Alonso; Enrique Santos of iHeartLatino; singer and actor, Jencarlos …

The US policy response to Cuba should have been centered on this sort of harm reduction. Instead, the Biden administration is selling its imposition of additional sanctions as a human rights lesson. This is vanity—it’s a dramatic overestimation of the US’ ability to change other states’ behavior through punitive measures.

The US also has a credibility problem when it comes to lecturing others in the international community on human rights, particularly when it comes to police violence. Maintaining the lie that the US does have this credibility means denying the existence of the problem that led to the credibility gap in the first place. Here’s one way this isn’t helpful:

Thanks for your time,

Stephen (@stephensemler; stephen@securityreform.org)

Find this note useful? Please consider becoming a supporter of SPRI. Unlike establishment think tanks, we rely exclusively on small donations.