Extraordinary Rendition

From the NYT editorial page today:

The administration's tendency to dodge accountability for lawless actions by resorting to secrecy and claims of national security is on sharp display in the case of a Syrian-born Canadian, Maher Arar, who spent months under torture because of United States action. A federal trial judge in Brooklyn has refused to stand up to the executive branch, in a decision that is both chilling and ripe for prompt overturning.

You can click on the Title for the rest of the Editorial.

The Times goes on to blast the Federal judge who weaseled out of the case by claiming issues of National Security.

Mr. Arar's case has been well publicized over the years (since 2002) and I hope at some point justice will be done. In the meantime, I wonder how many more innocents are sitting in prisons somewhere in the world subject to torture and inhumane conditions. We will probably never know.

Our government says we don't torture. We do, of course, but this is worse. We spirit these people away to countries that are all too willing to use torture. All under a cloak of secrecy in the name of national security. It's the vilest kind of hypocrisy and they keep getting away with it..

From everything I read while backtracking tonight, Mr. Arar was innocent and was detained because he knew someone who knew someone who might have known someone else who may or may not have had ties to Osama. Using that criteria, they could come after us all. We all know someone who knows someone etc.

I looked through the news and couldn't find any other mention of this. Maybe tomorrow or maybe I just missed it. I'm getting it on here because I don't want it buried once again.