The Garret Tree
Thursday, January 18, 2007
Leahy vs Gonzales on torture
U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee today.
Most of the American media concentrate in their coverage on the issue of spying and wiretapping-- and missed a major point: the confrontation between Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) and Gonzales over torture, the torture by Syria, at the behest of the United States, of innocent Canadian citizen Maher Arar.
The CBC covered that and you can watch the video on the CBC news site.
10:02 PM posted by Robin Rowland
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U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee today.
Most of the American media concentrate in their coverage on the issue of spying and wiretapping-- and missed a major point: the confrontation between Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) and Gonzales over torture, the torture by Syria, at the behest of the United States, of innocent Canadian citizen Maher Arar.
The CBC covered that and you can watch the video on the CBC news site.
"We knew damn well if he went to Canada he wouldn't be tortured," said Leahy. "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."
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."
CBC News story link. Video link on the right side of the page.
Maher Arar was exonerated by a Canadian Judicial inquiry. Details on the CBC Indepth report.
Labels: Alberto Gonzales, Maher Arar, Patrick Leahy, torture, United States, war crime
10:02 PM posted by Robin Rowland
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