Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community - The U.S., Canada, and Mahar Arar

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The U.S., Canada, and Mahar Arar

Few things make me angry. This was one of them. I received this as a forwarded e-mail. I was quickly disturbed by what I read.

To make me feel better about it, I thought I would share it with you with the purpose of opening up some dialogue--not only on the base issue, but also our own reactions to what has happened since. I hope to hear from both Canadians and Americans on this, since we are both involved.

This is what I received:

Quote:

IS this true??????????????????????????????????

It Is Time To Wake Up Canada

A Canadian soldier who gets killed in Afghanistan, his family gets
approx. $12,000.00 for his death.

Arar (what's his name), who the U.S. says has terrorist ties and deports
him to Syria for 4 years, comes back to Canada and tells how bad he was
treated, gets an apology from our government and 10 million DOLLARS for
his pain. (Liberals, NDP and the "Do-Gooders of Canada" had everything in place and the Government of the day had to reward this idiot!!!)

People does this seem fair????

Has our government missed the boat on this or is it me? Our soldier DIES
and he's not worth that kind of money, BUT an alleged terrorist gets 10
million dollars for pain & suffering, where's the logic. I think our
government has really screwed up on this one.

If you agree, please send it to as many people as you can & your local
politicians as well.

Thank you

JD

PS: The future will throw the case of Arar (what's his name) back in the face of us all!!!

And... this was my knee-jerk reaction:

Quote:

Forward this as well, if you will.

Who exactly is JD? I hope that anyone who read his letter will also read this:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/ar...statement.html

..and only begin to get the full picture.

I refuse to send this to anyone. It's ridiculous. Going as far as calling Arar an idiot. What's the purpose (or validity) of that? And "Arar (what's his name)"? It's called Google. Use it. And he wants to go on believing everything that the American government says, he's welcome to join the global minority who do as well.

The Arar case will come back in our face. It will be remembered as a time when Canada failed to protect one of its citizens... a failure of human rights and decency.

And remember, unlike members of our armed forces, Arar did not sign up nor earn a salary to put himself in danger's way. Let's be real here. Ten million dollars is merely enough to live off of as invested income. I don't know how any of us can expect Arar to live a normal life after what he's been through (read his statement). I believe Canada should be obligated to take care of this man. It's called the right thing to do.

Wake up Canada, indeed, if any of us share JD's deplorable sentiments.

Now, I felt I needed to respond to this vitriol aimed at both Arar and his settlement. This is mainly because it's posed as: who's more important Arar or dead soldier's families? (Which is both ridiculous and immature...)

What are your thoughts on this? Is Canada right in what they did, or what?

Canada's absolutely right, and the US is liable too. We (the US and Canada) knew what was going to happen when we shipped Arar off to the Egyptians; he was going to get tortured into confessing his terrorist ties. Neither of us can do that.

If I torture someone in the US, I am going to jail via the criminal court. Via the civil court, my victim can also collect directly from me for his pain and suffering. This is no different, especially since no terrorist ties were ever substantiated.

JD is an idiot.

The forwarded email sounds like several that have come my way from the uber conservative right. Like you, I usually debunk the junk and do a "forward all" and that usually ends tripe of that kind from reaching my inbox.

As your Southern neighbor, I find the US role in rendition a criminal act overall, made worse by refusing even a simple apology to this man. Canada's error was one of mistaken identity that had horrific consequences once the man feel into the hands of our government. I agree with Canada's decision to compensate the man for their error, but I don't expect the US to apologize for renditions for decades to come.

PS: Glad to see you posting in Politics again, Baraka.

If a private company was responsible for the ordeal Arar went through, you can bet that the courts would have awarded him more than 10 mil, yes even in Canada.

I believe we treated him properly, in the end. The government dragged their feet for far too long.

Canada did right for him, in the end. The US, however, still need to man up and do the right thing.

The alleged terrorist comment really tweaked me. He has been cleared of any charges or allegations. He is not a terrorist. Period.

Agreed. Given that he was tortured, I'm surprised he didn't confess to the Lincoln assassination.

"JD" is a tool. He should spend some time getting tortured in an Syrian prison and see how he feels about being wrongly accused and tortured.

Might give him some much needed perspective.