The last sentence I would have to qualify, since 'other atrocities' encompasses those in which I might be a victim!
I would say the 'blather' was the boilerplate invocations of the CIA in the alien context of a crime against a journalist.
mbs
> And smugmess which points to the sins of the other while soft-pedalling
> the sins one _might_ have an effect on is itself rather incoherent.
>
> The important atrocities for any U.S. citizen are the atrocities the
> U.S. commits or encourages. Other atrocities are part of the weather,
> and blather about them is a prime instance of moral relativism.
>
> Carrol