Speakeasy forum: How would you feel?

he chose to be with certain low life's so whats your beef?

I know your more intelligent that any terrorist, but just suppose you knew one and you didn't know that he was a terrorist. I don't think they broadcast the fact that they are terorists. A Government agency is following this terrorist and see you with him. Kidnap you, ship you to Jordan then Syria, your tortured for a year and sent home.

Would you have a beef?

did we torture him

If by "we" you mean the US, (and if the story, as I posted is true) then No, You had some other country do the dirty work. Which amounts to the same thing.

I had no doubt that you would have np with them doing it, because,

THEY WERE DOING IT TO HIM

Would you have a problem if they were doing it to you?

According to the information in the links, the only association Arar had with the other person, was "this person signed a paper with a landlord about rent"

The scene is, you are with a group of people that you meet with ocassionally. All with an interest in snakes and reptiles and maybe even guns. Subjects you have expressed interest in before. This group meets a couple of times a month. CIA, FBI, MI5, CSIS Interpol and who knows who else, are following a couple of "persons of interest" that belong to this "group of people". The gov agents arrest these "persons of interest" and members of the groups they associate with. They ship you off to another county and they torture you and then sent you back home.

You return home go back to your apartment/ house and don't say a word, don't mention it to anybody, don't feel like you have been done wrong. You just go on with your life like the event didn't happen.

For some reason or other, I don't think that the subject wouldn't be brought up

a news flash that many from that part of the world are not nice people.

But you have nothing to worry about If you ask me. Don't worry be happy person!
:)- smile

...you do not have SUBSTANTIAL Evidences to back up your claims, No CREDIBLE witnesses to testify on your behalf, Panel of Lawyers (experts in different cases/fields), interest groups including media to chant on your behalf ---- then it is perfectly alright to say, "Oh Sh_t!"



cl

This has been a major story in Canada since it occurred. Certainly the outward circumstances are true. He was pulled in New York, the US denied they had him or had anything to do with him, they did ship him to Syria, and he was eventually released. It took major pressure on the Canadian government and on the Syrian government to ultimately effect his release.

If any one incident accounts for Canada's skepticism about US actions it is this incident. The US was totally unhelpful as I understand it.

Rob Boyter

that the US did not know exactly what was going to happen to him?

Why did we deny an involvment if our position is as innocent as you describe?

Dan

One of the issues is that moral character is reflected in how we treat the most vulnerable people we contact.

In the Bible, for example, compassion toward (among others) aliens traveling in the nation was specifically mentioned.

If we treat aliens changing planes in our borders with no regard to their humanity and with no standards of decency then we have already lost the moral high ground in this conflict.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/arar/

It's a bit confusing reading through some of the various stories, especially given the fact that some of the reports may be imprecise in their language.

However, it is quite possible that Canadian diplomats were demanding explanations from the US even though US personnel had obtained the OK from Canadian intelligence personnel.

My impression is that (at least in our country) the diplomats and the spooks are not always reliable, accurate and timely in their communications with each other.

that the US (for whatever reason) should have either:
A: arrested him and kept him in the US
B: kept him in the airport lockup 'til there was a flight BACK to where he came from
or C: kept him in the lockup and put him on the FIRST flight to canada with a warning "DON'T EVER SHOW YOUR FACE IN THE USA AGAIN!"


the USs' role in this was, to say the least, "the villain"....


jonah don't think i like the way the canadians acted either...jones


.

Lets say Arar was stopped at JFK and the American authorities believed he knew a terrorist, they contact Canada.

They ask what do you want us to do? ( I can't really believe the US would do this, but for the sake of discussion, I'll say the US asks Canada for direction)

Keep him. (which I think should have happened if US really thought he was a terrorist)



send him to Canada ( which would amount to him being free, as he was already investigated by RCMP)

send him to Syria ( this is the most logical place for the US to send him, He was wanted because he didn't serve his time in the Syrian military, and the US is looking to have an ally in Syria and the fight against terrorism.)

that they had the sanction of the Canadian government to deport him to Syria.

Why would Canada agree to send him to Syria, Jordan or any other country. Why not just say don't send him anywhere but Canada?

Then Canada has to go through the process of getting him back, So, why all the running around?

http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/arar/

Oct. 10, 2002
Canadian officials are informed Arar has been deported.

Oct. 7 or 8, 2002
U.S. officials deport Arar to Syria.

Sept. 26, 2002
Arar is detained by U.S. Immigration and Naturalization officials at New York's John F. Kennedy Airport while returning alone to Montreal from a family vacation in Tunisia. A citizen of both Canada and Syria, he is carrying a Canadian passport. American officials allege Arar has links to al-Qaeda and detain and question him.

http://www.cbc.ca/stories/2002/10/16/arar021016

The U.S. says Arar knew a man in Ottawa whom they suspect of having links to the al-Qaeda terror organization.

But the director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations Canada says the RCMP questioned Arar about the relationship months ago. Riad Saloojee says the police were apparently satisfied with his answers. Saloojee has called on Foreign Affairs Minister Bill Graham to ensure Arar's safety.

Why then does he blame the US for what his own people did to him? Does he have a suit going against Syria too? Jordan? He wants to be here because he fears being there, because he fears being treated worse among his own, but it's the USA that he's railing against and suing. Something doesn't add up here.

If he's innocent of contributing to terrorism then it's a terrible thing that's happened to him. Unfortunate.

If he's been a contributor of money and comfort to such groups, then it's a light sentence he endured with all things considered in the light of 9/11.