Maher Arar 's insane war with the United States

Ok, what the hell is this?

Arar case closed, U.S. ambassador says

Mar 01, 2007 03:11 PM Canadian Press

The U.S. ambassador to Canada says there won't be another review of Maher Arar's place on a security watch list for the time being.

David Wilkins said today that his government completed a review of Arar's case a few weeks ago and stands by its actions.

He said the matter is now closed.

Arar can't fly into the United States even though he was exonerated of any terrorist ties by a Canadian inquiry.

He also received $10.5 million in compensation from the federal government and is currently suing U.S. officials.

The engineer was detained by U.S. officials in New York in 2002 and deported to Syria, where he was tortured while imprisoned for 10 months.

I don't know about you, but I was always taught that it is more graceful to admit when you've made a mistake than to continue to pretend that you are in the right when you have been proven wrong.

Here's what gets me the most:

In January, U.S. Homeland Security chief Michael Chertoff and Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said a secret file on Arar showed their decision was “appropriate.”

Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day said that Canadian officials looked at the file and found nothing to suggest Arar was a safety risk. (http://www.metronews.ca/story.aspx?id=33502)

So, what? They have a difference of opinion? The U.S. definition of "public safety" is more far-reaching and invasive to individuals than the Canadian one? Or perhaps Chertoff and Gonzales have another 'secret file' on Arar, and when they connect the dots between this file and that file, they can see that his family vacation in 2002 was indeed a terrorist operation; with his four-year old daughter as the possible point-person -- but of course, they aren't going to share that information with the Canadian government. That would just be silly.

Only two U.S. senators have come out to say anything about this case that makes any sense; they are Patrick Leahy of Vermont and Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania. Shout-outs to them for speaking up ... but come on guys, what's going on there now?

It seems childish an immature, but I think that this is a typically American attitude that is at work: stick with your original story. No matter how hairy things get. Then they can never accuse you of changing your mind or making a mistake. (Wouldn't want to seem too human, now, would we?)

I'm too upset to lecture on this topic; it's been all over the Canadian media for months (partly because the Canadian authorities actually had the guts to admit that they screwed up), but I'm sure it hasn't made nearly as much of a splash in the U.S. For more info on the Maher Arar Case, check out some of these links.

To read the Canadian Government's Official Maher Arar Commission: http://www.ararcommission.ca/eng/index.htm

For a summary of Maher Arar's story, check out the Maher Arar website: http://www.maherarar.ca/index.php

For an intelligent and poignant interview with Arar on CBC Radio's The Current, go to http://www.cbc.ca/thecurrent/podcast.html, subscribe to the Current podcast in iTunes (it's free), and download the September 19, 2006 podcast.