Maher Arar, as Left of the Dialians will recall, was the guy with dual citizenship, both Canadian and Syrian. We arrested him and hustled him out of the country secretly. Did we deport him to our close neighbor and dear friend Canada, as would be natural with a Canadian citizen?
We knew damn well if he went to Canada he wouldn't be tortured. 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.
— Judiciary Chairman Senator Patrick Leahy [D-VT]
Arar has since been cleared of all charges. Good thing we didn’t torture him!
Not ourselves, that is. We just made damn sure he was tortured by someone else.
Is that brimstone I smell?
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