“Meddling” and Clinton’s Global War on Censorship
Aaron Church /
Now, not only are we engaged in a War on Terror, but according to the U.S. State Department, apparently a Global War on Censorship. As President Barack Obama extends the hand of reconciliation to distasteful regimes, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is simultaneously declaring open war on many of these same states’ control of private-media access. Addressing the issue of media censorship in the wake of Google’s well-publicized row with China, Secretary Clinton asserted that, although “new technologies do not take sides in the struggle for freedom and progress, the United States does.”
This seems a hard-tack against the placatory tone of the administration to date, typified by President Obama’s refusal to “meddle” in Iran’s domestic affairs following Iranian elections, until the overwhelming tide of Western sentiment rendered his cherished middle ground absolutely untenable. By the administrations’ own measure, Secretary Clinton’s strategy of what Time Magazine’s Ken Stier calls “actively undermining” foreign government’s ability to limit speech (such as China’s limiting of internet searches) makes “meddling” seem like a minor matter. Though Secretary Clinton’s recognition of the foundational importance of the freedom of speech and the press must be commended, the Obama administration’s inconsistency on this issue threatens the credibility of America’s foreign policy and commitment to liberty.