The Spalding Group, which handles merchandising for the Bush/Cheney campaign, calls the incident a mistake and claims that only a handful of embroidered fleece pullovers from Burma were sold, according to Newsday and New York Times reports. The merchandiser has claimed responsibility for the error, saying that their supplier accidentally included several allegedly “pre-embargo” shirts and has vowed not to sell any more products from Burma.

While the sale of Burmese goods may indeed have been an oversight by the campaign, this is not the first time that the Bush Administration has faced criticism for its involvement with Burma. In a September 2000 report, EarthRights International exposed Dick Cheney’s business connections with the environmentally destructive and cruelly exploitative construction of the Yadana natural gas pipeline in Burma. Cheney’s former company, Halliburton, had subsidiary interests directly participating in the construction of the pipeline, and actively encouraged increased economic engagement with the brutal Burmese military regime when democracy and human rights groups were calling for both a halt to the project and for economic sanctions against the country.

The Bush Administration has shown its support for sanctions against Burma on a political level. However, the sale of Burmese goods by its election campaign, as well as demonstrated business ties with the Burmese military regime, raises questions about the underlying consistency of President Bush and Vice President Cheney’s commitment to supporting human rights and democracy efforts in Burma.