In case you missed it, the United States withdrew from the Human Rights Council yesterday.

But Eric Sottas, director of the International Organisation against Torture sees it as a a political gesture. “The US has always clearly shown its opposition to the Council. This is a slightly more public way of putting pressure on it in order to raise the stakes. What is more the Bush dynasty is coming to the end of its mandate,” he said. “It reminds me of the time when the Nixon administration, which backed Pinochet in Chile, chastized the UN for criticising the Chilean dictator. But when Carter was elected in 1977, the American government took the floor at the Human Rights Commission to ask forgiveness. After a presidency like that of Bush, you can expect some important changes in US policy on human right.”

Have we no shame? We are supposed to be a leader in justice, freedom, and humanity. But instead, our leaders seem to be turning this into a rogue state. We are using torture methods invented during the Spanish inquisition, for anyone trying to find comparable acts.

Thankfully both McCain and Obama won’t put up with this. Hopefully they can clean up this mess we’re in, and hopefully it doesn’t get much worse before they take charge.