Toronto Star: U.S. wanted Arar to be tortured, lawyer says

[lebkuchen]

U.S. authorities "contracted out" the torture of Maher Arar, a Canadian citizen deported to Syria for a year of interrogation and torture, says a New York civil rights lawyer representing him in a lawsuit against the United States government.

The case of Arar, who was detained in the U.S. while returning to Canada and sent to his native Syria in September, 2002, will be the subject of an upcoming public inquiry to uncover the role Canadian intelligence officials played.

Barbara Olshansky, assistant legal director of the Centre for Constitutional Rights, is handling Arar's civil suit against the U.S. government.

In Toronto to speak on civil rights after 9/11, sponsored by the Law Union of Ontario, Olshansky charged that U.S. authorities, who have long identified Syria as a "state sponsor of terror, torture and terrorist interrogation technique," sent Arar to Syria to be tortured by methods illegal in the U.S.


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http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1077923413024&call_pageid=968332188774&col=968350116467

[stilpist]

1. And your point is?

Freedom, as the powerful understand, is the right of those with power to do whatever they wish to those who can't stop them. If "U.S. authorities" were prevented from doing this thing their freedom would have been reduced and the terrorists would have won.

I'm surprised they contracted it out.

- stil

[SodoffBush]

2. You favor the U.S. gov. shipping Canadians to Syria for torture

when the U.S. starts wars preemptively against countries they say sanction torture?

[stilpist]

3. Oops.

I thought my comment was dripping with sarcasm enough so that anyone could tell. Apparantly I overestimated my rhetorical skills. Sorry 'bout that.

Actually I favor a foreign policy based on the traditional Golden Rule - "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." I don't anticipate that I will ever approve of U.S. foreign policy in this lifetime.

- stil

[lebkuchen]

4. I thought you were a troll myself.

"And your point is" is a RW mantra. You didn't know? They just don't get it, ever, so that phrase is ever-present in their vocabulary.

[stilpist]

5. Well, I just blew it.

I was just feeling really bitter about the story you posted, Lebkuchen, and was reacting to that.

If you could have heard the tone of my voice you wouldn't have been misled! :D I'll try to remember to label my sarcasm next time.

- stil

[Sing]

6. I thought it was

perfectly clear, in terms of dripping with sarcasm.

As for torture, I would be very suprised if this was one law they chose not to break...if they pharmed it out, it would only be because others have more experience and refined tactics in torture.