Why is HR so hated?

Following on from his series of articles entitled, 'My boss is bad', Chetan Dhruve explores the perception that HR departments are deemed unpopular within organisations.

"Human resources is a management term that should strike fear into the heart of every self-respecting entrepreneur. Of course, senior executives understand that HR is powerful – a bit like Mossad [the Israeli secret service] or the CIA."

So said Luke Johnson, chairman of Channel 4, in an article titled The truth about the HR department, in the Financial Times. And in Dilbert, the cartoon strip that satirizes the workplace, the character Catbert is called the 'evil director of human resources'.

What are words like 'strike fear', 'Mossad' and the 'CIA' doing in an article on HR? Why does a cartoonist use the word 'evil' when labelling an HR director? In contrast, HR is supposed to give us that warm, fuzzy feeling. More than anyone, HR is supposed to be the worker's true friend. So why is HR so hated?