Dirtbag US government afraid to apologize

U.S. lawmakers on Thursday offered apologies to a Canadian citizen who was deported by U.S. counterterrorism officials to Syria, where he says he was imprisoned and tortured.

Lawmakers from both parties also called on the Bush administration to apologize to Maher Arar, a Syrian-born software engineer still barred from entering the United States even though the Canadian government has cleared him of any links to terrorist groups.

"Our country made a mistake and has been unwilling to own up to it," California Republican Rep. Dana Rohrabacher said. "It reflects an arrogance I don't like to see in our government."

So Arar has been cleared and even financially compensated by the Canadian government but the US government won't do the right thing here. Typical I suppose and just confirms the blatant arrogance and general stupidty of which this government has maintained. Of course fessing up would be an admission of guilt in terms of using torture but I forgot that *snip* Bush has stated the US does not use torture. I only hope that some day someone locks him in a cell for a long time and beats him daily.

src today.reuters.com...
brill

(edited for profanity)

[edit on 22-10-2007 by Jbird]

reply to post by brill


I've thought for some time now that we should have a giant prison constructed just for the war criminals of the Bush Admin (nah, scratch giant, there should only be one that has about 100 cells, that ought to do it) put it IN Washington so that would leave a message, have a trial, it doesn't have to be fast, televise it all and let anyone testify who wants to, amend the Constitution so a future president can't pardon any of these assholes (they're all gonna get convicted, it's open-and-shut). Give 'em all life in prison without parole. Rumsfeld, Gates, Bush, Cheney, all the top brass at the CIA (oh yeah, disband the CIA too), Gonzales, Ashcroft, so on and so forth ad nauseum.

reply to post by brill



First off, you don’t know the full story. There are always two sides.

He probably was severely wronged, but you don’t know that for sure so the dirt bag title you gave the entire U.S. government is out of line in this instance.

Second, where do you get off bashing the government of 300 million people and leaving your location blank in your mini-profile? That is downright rude.

Originally posted by cavscout
Second, where do you get off bashing the government of 300 million people and leaving your location blank in your mini-profile? That is downright rude.

In all fairness cav, Bush' ratings inside the US is below 30%. I think that there is a HUGE number of Americans that think the same way. Like over 200 million Americans. He's not bashing Americans, just the Administration. Which would be wrong except for the fact that this Admin affects other countries. They should be allowed an opinion imo.

reply to post by cavscout


Pfft. You're picking at minutiae. There should be an apology! The real crime here is not what Mr. brill did here, but rather what the Bush Administration did.

Originally posted by intrepid
He's not bashing Americans, just the Administration.

Not exactly. The thread tittle was "Dirtbag US government afraid to apologize" which clearly would imply more of the government then just POTUS.

And as to the aproval ratings, fine then. He is insulting the beloved leader of 100 million people.

Look, I dont like Pres. Bush. Didnt vote for him either time. I also am angry with the entire US government in general.

HOWEVER, I would never insult an entire nation, or even just it's leaders, without saying where exactly I am from. It is poor form. I see it all over ATS more and more.

Originally posted by uberarcanist
There should be an apology!

Like I said, you are probably right, however you dont KNOW if you are right.

Just because the POTUS is often in the wrong (big time) does not mean that you should believe every thing you hear about him.

Does no one long for the truth anymore?

The first step in the denial of ignorance must be the search for truth!

[edit on 20-10-2007 by cavscout]

The U.S. has absolutely nothing to apologize for. Canada told the U.S. he was a terrorist and didn't want him back so the U.S. gave him to his home country. It was solely the Canadian government that's responsible for his unfortunate experience.

reply to post by cavscout


I agree with you. Wow Weeeeeee! That "dirtbag" comment really hurt me to the core!!!
I'm speechless, i guess i still love this country even if it is being run by undesirables!!!
This is a wake up call to me, who intensely dislikes Bush and his ilk that i'm a patriot and will always love this country.
That comment hurt. :shk:

Originally posted by djohnsto77
Canada told the U.S. he was a terrorist and didn't want him back

Do you have anything to back up your claim that Canada refused to take him back into their nation?

I see this from the source article

U.S. officials deported him after the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said he was a suspected Islamic extremist

I see nothing about them refusing him.

I do take issue with sending someone to a nation that will most likely hurt him, however what was the other option with a suspected terrorist? Send him to GITMO?

Maybe we do owe him an apology after all, but that is still not certain.

It's not going to happen. Doing so would open the door to a multimillion dollar false imprisonment lawsuit. The dirtbag US government dig may have been a bit over the top and all encompassing, but I aint crying, I tend to agree.



[edit on 20-10-2007 by jpm1602]

reply to post by cavscout


From Wikipedia:

Although he was also a citizen of Canada and was travelling on a Canadian passport, Canadian officials erroneously informed the United States that he was no longer a resident of their nation.

djohnsto77, I asked you if you had a source saying that the Canadians refused to take him. You didnt show that you have anything to back your claims.

This is from the Wiki page you linked to:Wikipedia:

The Commission also found no evidence that Canadian officials acquiesced in the U.S. decision to detain and remove Mr. Arar to Syria, but that it is very likely that the U.S. relied on inaccurate and unfair information about Mr. Arar that was provided by Canadian officials

It does not say they WOULDNT take him, however it does say that they didnt know and/or didnt support the fact that he was being deported.


[edit on 21-10-2007 by cavscout]

As far as I know he's living here now. So I guess he wasn't refused access.

Originally posted by intrepid
As far as I know he's living here now. So I guess he wasn't refused access.

Well yes, he is there after spending a year in Syria.

What I want to know, and what DJ seems to think he knows, is if Canada refused to take him BEFORE the US deported him.

If he was a Canadian resident traveling with a Canadian passport and Canada refused to let him in then that makes a huge difference. The US cannot be held responsible when other nations refuse to let theiir own back home, however we should not go sending them to nations we have labeled "Axis of Evil."

If he was a Syrian citizen, however, we were right to send him there IF and ONLY IF Canada said they didnt want him back.


Just trying to get to the bottom of things.

[edit on 21-10-2007 by cavscout]

reply to post by djohnsto77


What a disingenuous response. MA was illegally denied access to a lawyer, if he had one, none of the rendition could have ever happened! Not to mention that deportation of an individual to a country where they are likely to get tortured is blatantly illegal.

en.wikipedia.org...

Please note that "Islamic extremist" does not mean "terrorist."

Originally posted by cavscout
First off, you don’t know the full story. There are always two sides.

He probably was severely wronged, but you don’t know that for sure so the dirt bag title you gave the entire U.S. government is out of line in this instance.

Second, where do you get off bashing the government of 300 million people and leaving your location blank in your mini-profile? That is downright rude.

That's part of the problem though. Your right there are 2 sides, but the US has clearly indicated that for the sake of national security their methods would most likely remain confidential. Being that this is a conspiracy site and the fact that the US is using torture via their rendition program of course it will be difficult to attain any type of clarity here.

Further I can bash any government I feel like, who are you to tell me otherwise. I see the US government as being the culprit for many of the worlds problems both past and present. of course many other governments also sit a close second. My profile location is quite frankly none of your business and a pathetic attempt to derail this thread, who really cares where I live. If I'm an american then I'd be quickly labelled a left wing loon or right wing nut. If i'm non-american then my opinion would be deemed even more worthless. The issue here is that a man was guilty based on faulty accusations which still to this day hold. He's been treated as trash and thats just wrong.

brill

[edit on 21-10-2007 by brill]

Originally posted by cavscout

Originally posted by intrepid
As far as I know he's living here now. So I guess he wasn't refused access.

Well yes, he is there after spending a year in Syria.

What I want to know, and what DJ seems to think he knows, is if Canada refused to take him BEFORE the US deported him.

If he was a Canadian resident traveling with a Canadian passport and Canada refused to let him in then that makes a huge difference. The US cannot be held responsible when other nations refuse to let theiir own back home, however we should not go sending them to nations we have labeled "Axis of Evil."

If he was a Syrian citizen, however, we were right to send him there IF and ONLY IF Canada said they didnt want him back.


Just trying to get to the bottom of things.

[edit on 21-10-2007 by cavscout]

One question... Do you really think that the American Government Would Let A Country Dictate Where Citizens Go? Where's your proof that the Canadian government didn't try? After all both the Conservatives (Pro Bush Camp in Canada) and Liberals (Anti Bush) in Canada have spoken out about the Arrar Affair, and our government has paid Arrar over 10 million dollars for our wrongdoing (and incompetence by the RCMP who gave America wrong Information)... I think it's high time that Arrar would be allowed to sue you government, for America giving him to Syria, and for the Administration to admit wrongdoing... but as far as I'm concerned with the current people in the White House that will never happen... oh and by the Way take it with a grain of Salt that I am Canadian and yes I am bashing your government!

reply to post by Azure_Oak


Don't worry about bashing our government, I am a red state American and I do it with gusto and without guilt practically every day! Criticism is the mark of a true patriot!