U.S. 'knew damn well' Arar would be tortured: senator

[Spazito]

After sitting through withering criticism in a Senate hearing, U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has promised more information on the case of Maher Arar, a Canadian who ended up in a cell in Syria after U.S. officials grabbed him on a stopover in New York.

snip


"We also knew damn well if he went to Syria, he'd be tortured. And it's beneath the dignity of this country — a country that has always been a beacon of human rights — to send somebody to another country to be tortured.

snip

Leahy noted that U.S. officials claimed to have had assurances that people sent to Syria would not be tortured.

"Assurances," he snorted, "from a country that we also say now that we can't talk to them because we can't take their word for anything."

more

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2007/01/18/arar-us.html

[IthinkThereforeIAM]

1. Great to see this being acknowledged...

... by congress, because it recieved precious little attention in the MSM. Recommended

[thepurpose]

2. That's the left wing media for you. Why draw attention to the AG getting his ass handed to him

[Spazito]

3. You don't think it should be reported that a senior Senator

wants answers on this from the AG? The media shouldn't be reporting what happened at a Senate hearing? Left wing media? Canada wants answers for this, it was and is a BIG issue here and rendition is a BIG issue for your Congress.

[aggiesal]

13. I think you missed the sarcasm in 'thepurpose' statement

The right wing continues to insist that the MSM here in the states is controlled by the left wing liberals.
It's obviously controlled by right wing corporate interests.

Of course we believe that the MSM should be reporting this. I was disappointed that it was not on CSPAN live. We had to wait until 6pm to see a taped delay version of the smack down.
Then you have to ask yourself, "...why at 6pm?"
Because that's when the Networks air their national news.
This minimizes the number of people that would choose CSPAN over their network news.

The media blackout in the US is very well coordinated.

[Spazito]

14. I see no sarcasm implicit in that post

which is why I posed the questions I did. Regrettably, the questions I posed received no response either clarifying the post as sarcasm or, indeed, stating they meant exactly what they had posted and, as such, I can only surmise they meant exactly what they posted and it was not sarcasm.

[Jacobin]

11. Those damned facts do have a liberal bias, don't they

More Fantasy in my news, please,.....right?

[gratuitous]

4. I wonder if that wiped that little smile off of Gonzales' face?

He's always got that little "I know something you don't know" grin working for him. I wonder if Leahy's disdain shook him a little bit? Because it really should have.

[Hand]

12. Oh, it did!

Caught it online on CSPAN. Leahy tore Gonzo a whole new one just before the lunch break. Probably wrecked his appetite. It was extraordinary! :applause:

[irislake]

5. Oh come on!

Isn't that what rendition is all about?

[sabra]

6. U.S. 'knew damn well' Arar would be tortured: senator (Leahy)

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2007/01/18/arar-us.html


U.S. 'knew damn well' Arar would be tortured: senator
CBC News

After sitting through withering criticism in a Senate hearing, U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has promised more information on the case of Maher Arar, a Canadian who ended up in a cell in Syria after U.S. officials grabbed him on a stopover in New York.

Gonzales was grilled relentlessly on Thursday by Senate judiciary committee chairman Patrick Leahy. Leahy said that when Arar — a citizen of both Canada and Syria travelling on a Canadian passport — was detained in 2002, American authorities knew he would be tortured if they deported him to Syria.

"We knew damn well if he went to Canada he wouldn't be tortured," said Leahy, a Democrat from Vermont. "He'd be held and he'd be investigated.

"We also knew damn well if he went to Syria, he'd be tortured. And it's beneath the dignity of this country — a country that has always been a beacon of human rights — to send somebody to another country to be tortured.

"You know and I know that has happened a number of times in the past five years by this country. It is a black mark on us."

[CrazyOrangeCat]

7. grab his tail, Senator.

. . . and don't let go.

[Hand]

8. I'd suggest grabbing a couple of other smaller items...

...on the other side of the body. If he can find them. :rofl:

[CrazyOrangeCat]

10. exactly.

[The Stranger]

9. Fry, Alberto, fry.

[yurbud]

15. I heard this on NPR and it was electrifying--finally some Dem states obvious to Bushies' face

[yurbud]

16. If not to be tortured, why Syria? Are they better interrogators than ALL our police and intel?

[Kolesar]

17. This is why Osama said he has already won

Because we let a dictator establish himself in the United States and we let him take away our freedoms.

[Senator]

18. Then how come Leahy doesn't "know damn well" that it's his duty to stop the torture...

...instead of just whining about it?

Only Impeachment ... is a substantive act or resistance to any of it.

It IS our positive agenda.

And our ONLY moral, patriotic option.

(Yes, the honeymoon's over. Time to unsheath the samurai cluesticks. There are now over 20,000 more reasons to have done it sooner.)

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[IntravenousDemilo]

19. This Gonzales joker can be impeached, too, can't he? n/m

[Senator]

20. Yes, he can be impeached. Even more easily, he can be cited with contempt of Congress

Which may well explain the sudden firing of non-fascist US Attorneys. As one of them would have to prosecute him.

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