28, February, 2007
Dear Editor, Israel - response to Mark Donig’s op ed, February 27 in S. Daily
Mark Donig’s op-ed (Stanford Daily, February 27) offers nothing new. It is a classic ‘smoke and mirrors’ to deflect criticism from hard line Israeli policy that closely parallels former white South African oppression of its indigenous population. If Donig’s is not comfortable with this analogy, perhaps the genocide of the native American Indians by European invaders would be a more apt comparison. The Israeli/Palestinian issues are not complex, as Doing contends, but relatively simple. Israel has clearly violated international law by its illegal occupation of land outlined in U.N. Resolution 242. Israel must therefore withdraw from the West Bank, Gaza, Golan Heights, Sheeba Farms, and East Jerusalem.
The separation barrier has been declared illegal by the International Court of Justice and must therefore be dismantled. Palestinian land seized illegally to build this wall must be returned to its rightful owners. Palestinians must be compensated for home demolitions and the destruction of thousands of their olive trees. All illegally occupied land, to build Jewish-only settlements, must be dismantled and returned to the Palestinians. This theft is in contravention of Article 49, paragraph 6 of the Fourth Geneva Convention which states unequivocally, the "occupying power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into territories it occupies." Amnesty International and the International Committee have documented all these illegal activities. Israel must renounce all forms of collective punishment and other terrorist activities and commit to an independent Palestinian state along the “Green Line” or pre-1967 borders. Finally, Israel must renounce all forms of torture and release thousands of Palestinians, including women and young children, from its dark dungeons and commit to civilized behavior in line with its great religious traditions.
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Israel – silencing dissent 2-27-2007
27, February 2007 Israel – silencing dissent
The controversy accompanying President Carter’s book, “Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid,” continues unabated. Full page ads accusing Carter of anti-Semitism appeared in the New York Times. It is interesting and telling that Abraham Foxman, national director of The Anti-Defamation League, did not challenge the accuracy of Carter’s criticism of Israeli policies but resorted to cheap, personal attacks. There is little doubt that Foxman would be hard pressed to find fault with the inconvenient truths of blatant racism and oppression of the Palestinians meticulously documented in Carter’s book. Watch dog committees are carefully monitoring major media outlets such as CNN and NPR. Their goal is not to challenge content but vigorously propagandize pro-Israeli advocacy and silence dissenting voices.
America is not well served when its policies do not receive a respectable hearing by its people who are indirectly funding the Israeli war machine and are therefore complicit in the land appropriation, ethnic cleansing and starvation of its indigenous population. I wonder how vociferous supporters of Israel would respond if a foreign power were to occupy the U.S. and demand legitimacy. How would citizens respond if their homes were demolished to provide land for the occupying power? Drawing on the Israeli model, protests or resistance (by “terrorists”) would be accompanied with curfews, economic deprivation, targeted assassinations, torture, and long term sentences in dungeons. That is the reality of Palestine.
The controversy accompanying President Carter’s book, “Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid,” continues unabated. Full page ads accusing Carter of anti-Semitism appeared in the New York Times. It is interesting and telling that Abraham Foxman, national director of The Anti-Defamation League, did not challenge the accuracy of Carter’s criticism of Israeli policies but resorted to cheap, personal attacks. There is little doubt that Foxman would be hard pressed to find fault with the inconvenient truths of blatant racism and oppression of the Palestinians meticulously documented in Carter’s book. Watch dog committees are carefully monitoring major media outlets such as CNN and NPR. Their goal is not to challenge content but vigorously propagandize pro-Israeli advocacy and silence dissenting voices.
America is not well served when its policies do not receive a respectable hearing by its people who are indirectly funding the Israeli war machine and are therefore complicit in the land appropriation, ethnic cleansing and starvation of its indigenous population. I wonder how vociferous supporters of Israel would respond if a foreign power were to occupy the U.S. and demand legitimacy. How would citizens respond if their homes were demolished to provide land for the occupying power? Drawing on the Israeli model, protests or resistance (by “terrorists”) would be accompanied with curfews, economic deprivation, targeted assassinations, torture, and long term sentences in dungeons. That is the reality of Palestine.
Saturday, February 24, 2007
New Iraqi Oil Law 2-24-2007
24, February 2007 New Iraqi Oil Law
A new law which will open up Iraqi’s oil reserves to further western oil exploitation will be certain to convince more and more Iraqis that our unwarranted attack on their country had little to do with ushering in the fresh breeze of democracy and more to do with gaining access to their liquid gold. Under the new law, long term contracts will deprive Iraqis of billions of dollars of oil revenue and weaken their control of its production. Foreign oil executives will have a much greater voice as Iraqi federal board members in determining production levels and approving ‘their own contracts’. The new law will also negate Iraq’s membership to OPEC and lay the ground work for the eventual partitioning of Iraq in separate states. There can be little doubt that such a law will weaken Iraq’s economic stability and development and intensify the anger against US soldiers. Thus, failing a massive surge in public opposition, more US and Iraqis will be doomed to pay the ultimate price to insure the continuing obscene profits of multi-national oil companies.
A new law which will open up Iraqi’s oil reserves to further western oil exploitation will be certain to convince more and more Iraqis that our unwarranted attack on their country had little to do with ushering in the fresh breeze of democracy and more to do with gaining access to their liquid gold. Under the new law, long term contracts will deprive Iraqis of billions of dollars of oil revenue and weaken their control of its production. Foreign oil executives will have a much greater voice as Iraqi federal board members in determining production levels and approving ‘their own contracts’. The new law will also negate Iraq’s membership to OPEC and lay the ground work for the eventual partitioning of Iraq in separate states. There can be little doubt that such a law will weaken Iraq’s economic stability and development and intensify the anger against US soldiers. Thus, failing a massive surge in public opposition, more US and Iraqis will be doomed to pay the ultimate price to insure the continuing obscene profits of multi-national oil companies.
Saturday, February 17, 2007
Iraqi refugees 2-17-2007
17, February 2007 Iraqi refugees
It is shameful that the Bush Administration and its dwindling supporters on the Hill continue to embrace the fantasy of ‘victory in Iraq’ oblivious of the mayhem created by the occupation. A recent U.N. study reported two million Iraqi refugees have fled to neighboring countries and another 1.7 million have been internally displaced. Our ill-advised immoral war has created the largest refugee crisis in the Middle East since the ejection of 800,000 Palestinians from their homes in 1948. This would be equivalent to approximately 37 million Americans losing their homes. Bush and his supporters continue to display a callous disregard for the sanctity human life despite their shallow pro-life rhetoric. How many more US soldiers and Iraqi civilians must perish before we demand an end to this occupation and bring our troops home? How many misguided Republicans insist on placing party loyalty ahead of the welfare of our troops and nation?
It is shameful that the Bush Administration and its dwindling supporters on the Hill continue to embrace the fantasy of ‘victory in Iraq’ oblivious of the mayhem created by the occupation. A recent U.N. study reported two million Iraqi refugees have fled to neighboring countries and another 1.7 million have been internally displaced. Our ill-advised immoral war has created the largest refugee crisis in the Middle East since the ejection of 800,000 Palestinians from their homes in 1948. This would be equivalent to approximately 37 million Americans losing their homes. Bush and his supporters continue to display a callous disregard for the sanctity human life despite their shallow pro-life rhetoric. How many more US soldiers and Iraqi civilians must perish before we demand an end to this occupation and bring our troops home? How many misguided Republicans insist on placing party loyalty ahead of the welfare of our troops and nation?
Friday, February 16, 2007
Predators of the poor 2-16-2007
16, February 2007 Predators of the poor
A recent BBC report has exposed an extremely insidious operation to drive cash strapped third world counties into deeper debt. A shadowy group of companies, known as the “vulture funds”, purchase outstanding debts from these countries at bargain prices and then turn around and use legal extortion to force these companies to pay the original debt with interest. For example, Zambia’s outstanding debt $40 million was purchased for $4 million and will likely be forced to pay $40 million to these extortionists. A number of these lawsuits have been referred to the US courts. Under the US Constitution, the President can prevent these vultures from conducting their dirty business with a stroke of his pen. Unfortunately, a number of these high rolling vultures have contributed large amount of money to the Republican Party to gain legislative favors. It is therefore up to the people to ensure that President Bush follows through on his promise to provide debt relief to the poor nations of the world.
A recent BBC report has exposed an extremely insidious operation to drive cash strapped third world counties into deeper debt. A shadowy group of companies, known as the “vulture funds”, purchase outstanding debts from these countries at bargain prices and then turn around and use legal extortion to force these companies to pay the original debt with interest. For example, Zambia’s outstanding debt $40 million was purchased for $4 million and will likely be forced to pay $40 million to these extortionists. A number of these lawsuits have been referred to the US courts. Under the US Constitution, the President can prevent these vultures from conducting their dirty business with a stroke of his pen. Unfortunately, a number of these high rolling vultures have contributed large amount of money to the Republican Party to gain legislative favors. It is therefore up to the people to ensure that President Bush follows through on his promise to provide debt relief to the poor nations of the world.
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Israel’s critics silenced 2-14-2007
14, February 2007 Israel’s critics silenced
It is encouraging to hear more and more people speaking out in defense of Jimmy Carter’s latest book, "Palestine: Peace not Apartheid." A former senior Republican, Paul Findley who represented Illinois in the U.S. House for 22 years, offered a vigorous defense of Carter. He is the author of numerous books, including "They Dare to Speak Out" and "Silent No More."
Sadly, Findley, paid the ultimate price for speaking out in favor of Palestinian rights and criticizing the construction of Jewish-only settlements on confiscated Palestinian land. He lost his Congressional seat by a narrow margin after the pro-Israeli lobby poured money into his opponent’s campaign. In his book, “They Dare to Speak Out”, Findley describes the tactics used by pro-Israeli groups to silence opponents. Other human rights stalwarts, such as Archbishop Desmond Tutu and UN Envoy John Dugard, compare Israeli policies to former white South African apartheid. Surprisingly, even Israeli policians, such as former Education Minister, Shulamit Aloni, acknowledge that an apartheid system exists in Israel. Israeli policies are counter to basic American polices and values and a complete violation of international law. Yet, Israel continues to build illegal settlements largely financed by US tax money. Our unconditional support to Israel has completely damaged our credibility and has endangered our security. It is time for citizens to speak out and demand accountability from Israel which has consistently demonstrated its utter disdain for the rule of international law.
It is encouraging to hear more and more people speaking out in defense of Jimmy Carter’s latest book, "Palestine: Peace not Apartheid." A former senior Republican, Paul Findley who represented Illinois in the U.S. House for 22 years, offered a vigorous defense of Carter. He is the author of numerous books, including "They Dare to Speak Out" and "Silent No More."
Sadly, Findley, paid the ultimate price for speaking out in favor of Palestinian rights and criticizing the construction of Jewish-only settlements on confiscated Palestinian land. He lost his Congressional seat by a narrow margin after the pro-Israeli lobby poured money into his opponent’s campaign. In his book, “They Dare to Speak Out”, Findley describes the tactics used by pro-Israeli groups to silence opponents. Other human rights stalwarts, such as Archbishop Desmond Tutu and UN Envoy John Dugard, compare Israeli policies to former white South African apartheid. Surprisingly, even Israeli policians, such as former Education Minister, Shulamit Aloni, acknowledge that an apartheid system exists in Israel. Israeli policies are counter to basic American polices and values and a complete violation of international law. Yet, Israel continues to build illegal settlements largely financed by US tax money. Our unconditional support to Israel has completely damaged our credibility and has endangered our security. It is time for citizens to speak out and demand accountability from Israel which has consistently demonstrated its utter disdain for the rule of international law.
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Iran 2-13-2007
13, February 2007 Iran
It is shameful that the same media that failed to challenge the administration in the run up to the Iraq war is now willing to print unsubstantiated claims about Iran and thus bring our weary nation to the brink of another war. It is appalling that the media should abandon its traditional role as ‘watchdogs’ and relegate itself to becoming a conduit for this thoroughly discredited administration. A new cast of shadowy exile groups have now descended on Washington making false claims and urging for regime changes in Syria and Iran.
Military officials took the highly unusual precautions in remaining anonymous and barred all recording devices at a news conference in Baghdad when they formally accused Iran of shipping weapons to Shia militias. Even General Peter Pace, the top US commander could not confirm the charges. In a lead article entitled, "From the Wonderful Folks Who Brought You Iraq." Vanity Fair magazine, reports that the same strategies which resulted in the tragic war with Iraq are now being used to launch a strike on Iran. What is extremely disturbing is the role of Israeli neo-cons in persuading the Bush administration that such a pre-emptive strike would be in ‘Israel’s best interests’. The Vanity Fair article provides disturbing historical information linking Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel and Richard Perle in formulating a Middle East agenda, entitled “A Clean Break” which laid the foundation for current Bush/Cheney’s polices.
It is shameful that the same media that failed to challenge the administration in the run up to the Iraq war is now willing to print unsubstantiated claims about Iran and thus bring our weary nation to the brink of another war. It is appalling that the media should abandon its traditional role as ‘watchdogs’ and relegate itself to becoming a conduit for this thoroughly discredited administration. A new cast of shadowy exile groups have now descended on Washington making false claims and urging for regime changes in Syria and Iran.
Military officials took the highly unusual precautions in remaining anonymous and barred all recording devices at a news conference in Baghdad when they formally accused Iran of shipping weapons to Shia militias. Even General Peter Pace, the top US commander could not confirm the charges. In a lead article entitled, "From the Wonderful Folks Who Brought You Iraq." Vanity Fair magazine, reports that the same strategies which resulted in the tragic war with Iraq are now being used to launch a strike on Iran. What is extremely disturbing is the role of Israeli neo-cons in persuading the Bush administration that such a pre-emptive strike would be in ‘Israel’s best interests’. The Vanity Fair article provides disturbing historical information linking Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel and Richard Perle in formulating a Middle East agenda, entitled “A Clean Break” which laid the foundation for current Bush/Cheney’s polices.
Friday, February 9, 2007
Israeli Spies on U.S. Soil 2-9-2007
9, February 2007 Israeli Spies on U.S. Soil
A troubling new development reported by investigative reporters at Counterpunch, ABC’s 20/20, the Jewish newspaper, The Forward, and Salon.com was the presence of Israeli Secret agents on U.S. soil prior to September 11th . The five Israeli spies were reported to be living in close proximity to the hijackers.
FBI agents, who had been tracking these men, reported seeing three of them rejoicing as the first plane hit the North Tower. All five were arrested by the FBI and held for 71 days. All five consistently failed lie detector tests, but under pressure from local Israeli political support groups and the Israeli government they were released and allowed to return to Israel.
What is extremely disturbing, is that all five appeared to have had prior knowledge of the attacks and told FBI agents that the attacks were ‘good for Israel’ because they would alienate the U.S. from the Arab world. Under intense pressure, the media halted their investigations, which leaves the following questions unanswered. Why were these spies allowed to operate on US soil and subsequently released? Was critical information they had gathered deliberately withheld from U.S authorities to achieve a long standing goal to demonize the Arab world? Could this information have prevented 9/11?
A troubling new development reported by investigative reporters at Counterpunch, ABC’s 20/20, the Jewish newspaper, The Forward, and Salon.com was the presence of Israeli Secret agents on U.S. soil prior to September 11th . The five Israeli spies were reported to be living in close proximity to the hijackers.
FBI agents, who had been tracking these men, reported seeing three of them rejoicing as the first plane hit the North Tower. All five were arrested by the FBI and held for 71 days. All five consistently failed lie detector tests, but under pressure from local Israeli political support groups and the Israeli government they were released and allowed to return to Israel.
What is extremely disturbing, is that all five appeared to have had prior knowledge of the attacks and told FBI agents that the attacks were ‘good for Israel’ because they would alienate the U.S. from the Arab world. Under intense pressure, the media halted their investigations, which leaves the following questions unanswered. Why were these spies allowed to operate on US soil and subsequently released? Was critical information they had gathered deliberately withheld from U.S authorities to achieve a long standing goal to demonize the Arab world? Could this information have prevented 9/11?
Monday, February 5, 2007
Sent to Rep. Eshoo, Senators Boxer & Feinstein, 2-5-2007
5, February 2007 Sent to Rep. Eshoo, Senators Boxer & Feinstein,
As a longtime member of Amnesty International, I am writing out of profound concern over the arrest and confinement of Dr. Sami Al-Arian. Al-Arian is an esteemed professor currently confined to a federal prison. He has been the target of an unrelenting U.S. government campaign of physical deprivation, legal harassment and psychological torture. Over a year ago, after a six-month trial, a Florida jury acquitted him and his co-defendants of sensational and biased charges of being “terrorists.” Yet Al-Arian remains in prison under the most horrific conditions. For more than two years before his trial was scheduled, he was held at a maximum security federal prison in solitary confinement, denied regular contact with his family, with limited legal consultation and medical care and restricted ability to practice his religion.
Despite a steady torrent of prejudicial media accounts and the expenditure of millions of dollars to make the government case against Al-Arian, on Dec. 6, 2005, 12 jurors found no evidence to convict him of more than 90 possible charges, Al-Arian was nevertheless returned to his grim prison cell with no date set for a new. Many of his supporters believe that his innocence had been firmly established and that his wife and five children would soon be reunited with their husband and father.
However, in May 2006 the Florida trial judge rejected the jury’s findings, ignored the plea agreement, declared Al-Arian “a liar” and “a terrorist,” and sentenced him to the maximum prison term. The U.S. government has since moved Al-Arian around the country from prison to prison, often in the dead of night, leaving his whereabouts unknown to his family and legal team. The U.S. government has since moved Al-Arian around the country from prison to prison, often in the dead of night, leaving his whereabouts unknown to his family and legal team. So Al-Arian has begun a hunger strike. He is a diabetic and his health has suffered greatly during the harsh conditions of his almost four-year incarceration. Nevertheless, he has steadfastly maintained his support for the Palestinian people and their right to struggle against occupation.
I call upon your immediate intervention and ask that you demand the immediate and unconditional release of Dr. Sami Al-Arian. His continual incarceration is a travesty and makes a mockery of our claim to be a law abiding nation.
As a longtime member of Amnesty International, I am writing out of profound concern over the arrest and confinement of Dr. Sami Al-Arian. Al-Arian is an esteemed professor currently confined to a federal prison. He has been the target of an unrelenting U.S. government campaign of physical deprivation, legal harassment and psychological torture. Over a year ago, after a six-month trial, a Florida jury acquitted him and his co-defendants of sensational and biased charges of being “terrorists.” Yet Al-Arian remains in prison under the most horrific conditions. For more than two years before his trial was scheduled, he was held at a maximum security federal prison in solitary confinement, denied regular contact with his family, with limited legal consultation and medical care and restricted ability to practice his religion.
Despite a steady torrent of prejudicial media accounts and the expenditure of millions of dollars to make the government case against Al-Arian, on Dec. 6, 2005, 12 jurors found no evidence to convict him of more than 90 possible charges, Al-Arian was nevertheless returned to his grim prison cell with no date set for a new. Many of his supporters believe that his innocence had been firmly established and that his wife and five children would soon be reunited with their husband and father.
However, in May 2006 the Florida trial judge rejected the jury’s findings, ignored the plea agreement, declared Al-Arian “a liar” and “a terrorist,” and sentenced him to the maximum prison term. The U.S. government has since moved Al-Arian around the country from prison to prison, often in the dead of night, leaving his whereabouts unknown to his family and legal team. The U.S. government has since moved Al-Arian around the country from prison to prison, often in the dead of night, leaving his whereabouts unknown to his family and legal team. So Al-Arian has begun a hunger strike. He is a diabetic and his health has suffered greatly during the harsh conditions of his almost four-year incarceration. Nevertheless, he has steadfastly maintained his support for the Palestinian people and their right to struggle against occupation.
I call upon your immediate intervention and ask that you demand the immediate and unconditional release of Dr. Sami Al-Arian. His continual incarceration is a travesty and makes a mockery of our claim to be a law abiding nation.
Sunday, February 4, 2007
Green Card Holders Beware! 2-4-2007
4, February 2007 Green Card Holders Beware!
Dear Editor,
The frightening experience of Ali-al-Marri should be of particular interest to Indo-American green card holder. Three years ago, Ali al-Marri was snatched by Bush’s secret police (the CIA) declared an ‘enemy combatant’ and tossed into prison without trial and without any formal charges being applied. The declaration ‘enemy combatant’ is somewhat perplexing because he had never been engaged in any hostile action and therefore the charge seems utterly preposterous. This is an extremely important case because it marks one of the first challenges of the Military Commission Act and its suspension of the writ of Habeas Corpus.
If the government prevails in its unfounded charges based on hearsay or worse on outright lies, this would send a chilling message to the 20 million green card holders (including many Indo-Americans). These immigrants could be arrested, without cause and jailed indefinitely. Clearly, these new edicts could be grossly abused to stifle dissent and move our society closer to becoming a tyrannical, totalitarian state. Recent government intrusions into our private lives (illegal wiretapping, email interceptions) are ample evidence of ‘big brothers’ hidden agenda. Non-US citizens are especially vulnerable.
Take the case of German citizen Khaled El-Masri who was kidnapped by CIA operatives in broad daylight in Germany and flown to a secret site where he was brutally tortured. Such actions are eerily reminiscent of mafia style ‘Godfather’ practices. Another innocent victim that fell to the CIA dragnet was Mr. Arar who was apprehended at Kennedy on route to Toronto. His arrest was based on bogus information provided by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police RCMP). His loud protests of innocence were ignored. His demands to see a lawyer were ignored. His demand to contact his family was ignored. He expressed great fear that he would be tortured when he was told he was being sent to Syria to be interrogated.
His worse fears were soon realized when he was savagely beaten and then confined to a small dungeon for nearly a year. He was finally released after his brutal interrogators failed to extract a ‘confession’. On his return to Toronto, he successfully sued the Canadian government and received an apology and a substantial settlement. A Canadian high court judge, Dennis O’Conner, produced an incisive report highly critical of the heavy handed measures and sloppy intelligence that caused so much pain to one of its citizens. Predictably, the Bush administration which has an unblemished record for deceit and obfuscation has remained silent and has refused to remove Arar from its terrorist ‘no fly list’. It remains totally unconcerned that its brutal actions have destroyed Arar’s health. .
In a welcome sign that sanity is slowly returning to Europe, several countries, most notably France and Germany have made it clear they will no longer tolerate such flagrant abuses of their citizenry. Warrants have already been issued in Germany against CIA operatives guilty of such brutal behavior. In the home country, another welcome sign that legislators are challenging the dark actions of the Bush administration, North Carolina legislators are investigating, Aero Contractors, which was retained by the CIA to fly its human cargo to ‘black site’ dungeons of the world. However, much needs to be done on the home front if we are to reverse the erosion of our civil liberties and charter a new course in our disastrous foreign policy debacles.
Dear Editor,
The frightening experience of Ali-al-Marri should be of particular interest to Indo-American green card holder. Three years ago, Ali al-Marri was snatched by Bush’s secret police (the CIA) declared an ‘enemy combatant’ and tossed into prison without trial and without any formal charges being applied. The declaration ‘enemy combatant’ is somewhat perplexing because he had never been engaged in any hostile action and therefore the charge seems utterly preposterous. This is an extremely important case because it marks one of the first challenges of the Military Commission Act and its suspension of the writ of Habeas Corpus.
If the government prevails in its unfounded charges based on hearsay or worse on outright lies, this would send a chilling message to the 20 million green card holders (including many Indo-Americans). These immigrants could be arrested, without cause and jailed indefinitely. Clearly, these new edicts could be grossly abused to stifle dissent and move our society closer to becoming a tyrannical, totalitarian state. Recent government intrusions into our private lives (illegal wiretapping, email interceptions) are ample evidence of ‘big brothers’ hidden agenda. Non-US citizens are especially vulnerable.
Take the case of German citizen Khaled El-Masri who was kidnapped by CIA operatives in broad daylight in Germany and flown to a secret site where he was brutally tortured. Such actions are eerily reminiscent of mafia style ‘Godfather’ practices. Another innocent victim that fell to the CIA dragnet was Mr. Arar who was apprehended at Kennedy on route to Toronto. His arrest was based on bogus information provided by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police RCMP). His loud protests of innocence were ignored. His demands to see a lawyer were ignored. His demand to contact his family was ignored. He expressed great fear that he would be tortured when he was told he was being sent to Syria to be interrogated.
His worse fears were soon realized when he was savagely beaten and then confined to a small dungeon for nearly a year. He was finally released after his brutal interrogators failed to extract a ‘confession’. On his return to Toronto, he successfully sued the Canadian government and received an apology and a substantial settlement. A Canadian high court judge, Dennis O’Conner, produced an incisive report highly critical of the heavy handed measures and sloppy intelligence that caused so much pain to one of its citizens. Predictably, the Bush administration which has an unblemished record for deceit and obfuscation has remained silent and has refused to remove Arar from its terrorist ‘no fly list’. It remains totally unconcerned that its brutal actions have destroyed Arar’s health. .
In a welcome sign that sanity is slowly returning to Europe, several countries, most notably France and Germany have made it clear they will no longer tolerate such flagrant abuses of their citizenry. Warrants have already been issued in Germany against CIA operatives guilty of such brutal behavior. In the home country, another welcome sign that legislators are challenging the dark actions of the Bush administration, North Carolina legislators are investigating, Aero Contractors, which was retained by the CIA to fly its human cargo to ‘black site’ dungeons of the world. However, much needs to be done on the home front if we are to reverse the erosion of our civil liberties and charter a new course in our disastrous foreign policy debacles.
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