Since when did Maher Arar become an American citizen? Should our bill of rights extend to foreigners the same as to citizens? Of course there are some laws and some international agreements that we're obligated to adhere to, but in this case, the U.S. acted on intelligence from the RCMP that he had ties to al Quaeda types. As a natural born Syrian who emigrated to Canada, they deported him to Syria. Also, officials visited Arar seven times in Damascus before he claimed he was being tortured. The officials saw no evidence of torture and the only evidence remains the guy's own testimony.Originally Posted by Guiness
Wow. Our very own budding FYI right here on Packer Rats.
Who's civil liberties could be eroded? Ask Maher Arar. He'll have a good answer.
This case doesn't even address the Bill in question, and it confuses the issue by comparing apples and oranges (Citizens versus foreigners). The issue is whether more severe forms of interrogation can be used in extreme situations. Let me ask you guys this - how many of you would water-board Kahlid Sheik Mohammed is you knew he knew the whereabouts of al Quaeda sleeper cells in the U.S. and no other methods of interrogation were working? I'd do it in a second.
And Joe Mailman - answer the question. How many Americans have had their civil liberities infringe upon by this bill?
Finally, I hate to say it, but there will be mistakes made in trying to pursue and track these terrorist types. I don't like it at all, but it's the reality of war, and is even more difficult in a war against insidious terrorists. But, as Osama has said himself, they are relying on our squeamishness and our plethora of groups dedicated to undermining our efforts to pursue the war on islamic fundamentalist terrorism, like the ACLU and amnesty international.
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