...There is no attempt to refute the carefully documented facts contained in Birnbaum's TNR piece; there is no smear campaign against the author; there are no fervent letters to the editor insisting on HRW's invincible moral authority. Instead, there is silence. I think I know why: HRW has been beaten. The case against it has become too strong and too airtight, and HRW's attempts at self-defense, as the group learned from its attempt to trash its own founder, are so implausible and desperate that they only make the situation worse.

With the TNR piece, we enter a new phase with Human Rights Watch, in which the group no longer tries to marshal a spirited defense of its conduct and reputation. This is how we know things are going the wrong way for HRW: when self-defense becomes so embarrassing that it's better to keep quiet and hope everyone's attention shifts to other subjects...