CC torture fans: Meet Maher Arar

[kluge]

<p>From Wikipedia:

Maher Arar (born 1970) is a Canadian software engineer born in Syria. On September 26, 2002, during a stopover in New York en route from Tunis to Montreal, Arar was detained by the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service who were acting upon information supplied by the RCMP[1]. Despite carrying a Canadian passport, he was deported to Syria in accordance with a U.S. policy known as “extraordinary rendition”. Arar was then held in solitary confinement in a Syrian prison where, according to a Commission of Inquiry headed by Justice Dennis O’Connor, he was regularly tortured until his eventual release and return to Canada in October 2003. The episode strained Canada-U.S. relations and resulted in the creation of a public inquiry in Canada “into the actions of Canadian officials dealing with the deportation and detention”[2] of Arar. The commission’s final report cleared Arar’s name and was sharply critical of the RCMP and other Canadian government departments.

From Associated Press, quoting Justice O’Conner:

“The American authorities who handled Mr. Arar’s case treated Mr. Arar in a most regrettable fashion,” O’Connor wrote. “They removed him to Syria against his wishes and in the face of his statements that he would be tortured if sent there. Moreover, they dealt with Canadian officials involved with Mr. Arar’s case in a less than forthcoming manner.”

</p>

[SuNa]

<p>I would really like to know what G. Bush and company believe they’re gaining with this kind of treatment. Seriously – they are so willing to risk the U.S.'s reputation. For what?</p>

[driver]

<p>I was wondering who would be the first to triumphantly post this. So, Kluge: We can’t stop Syria from supporting Hezbollah in Lebanon. We can’t stop them from supporting the “insurgents” in Iraq. How is it that they supposedly torture supposed terrorists that we supposedly send them for interrogation? Supposedly on our behalf. Does this make sense to you?</p>

[citygirlsmom]

<p>suppodedly> we did it, we admitted it…</p>

<p>it was on our behalf and we sent an innocent man to syria to be tortured…to syria…no supposed about it</p>

<p>driver, are you saying we didn’t send him to syria? that he wasn’t tortured there for us? that he wasn’t innocent?</p>

<p>what do you mean by supposedly</p>

<p>and we only know as much as we do about him because he was Canadian… and Canada looked into his story…how many other innocent people have we rendered for torture that we don’t know about</p>

<p>and 70-90 percent of Iraqi detainees in 2003 were “mistakes” is what US authorities told the Red Cross…up to 90 of the people arrested were innocent…</p>

[driver]

<p>What I’m saying is that the Syrians, as state sponsors of terrorism and our sworn enemies aren’t likely to interrogate terrorist suspects for us, are they?</p>

[alwaysamom]

<p>The Arar story has been front page news here in Toronto this week. Yesterday, the House of Commons voted unanimously for the Canadian government to issue an apology. The RCMP has admitted to providing U.S. authorities with inaccurate information about Arar, and a further investigation and sanctions are likely. However, it’s surely easier to make the call on this today than it was four years ago, when everyone was approaching the issue from a climate of fear and both the government and the Canadian public believed that what was done was the right thing.</p>

[FountainSiren]

<p>CC torture fans…hmmm. </p>

<p>I would have assumed than none here among us are so in to torture as to be considered “fans”; I mean other than the racy types into S&M or bondage which as I understand is a lifestyle choice not to be judged by those of a moral or conservative disposition. Besides these ccer’s (if they exist) would not so much be the “fans” of inflicting pain as the entertainers, or athletes themselves.</p>