There has recently been a significant amount of discussion over the treatment of persons who are captured during the War on Terror. As most people know, The Bush Administration wants the CIA to still be able to torture detainees with the hope that they might receive some crucial information. Glenn Greenwald, however, provides readers with a prime example of how torture might lead to the United States actually receiving false information. Greenwald's post directs readers to a Washington Post article that discusses the case of an innocent Canadian who was tortured until he was forced to confess to terror related crimes he did not commit.
The inquiry, which focused on the Canadian intelligence services, found that agents who were under pressure to find terrorists after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, falsely labeled an Ottawa computer consultant, Maher Arar, as a dangerous radical. They asked U.S. authorities to put him and his wife, a university economist, on the al-Qaeda "watchlist," without justification, the report said.
Arar was also listed as "an Islamic extremist individual" who was in the Washington area on Sept. 11. The report concluded that he had no involvement in Islamic extremism and was on business in San Diego that day, said the head of the inquiry commission, Ontario Justice Dennis O'Connor.In his analysis of the situation, Greenwald points out that the technique would cause authorities to devote time and money to an investigation that is completely false.Arar, now 36, was detained by U.S. authorities as he changed planes in New York on Sept. 26, 2002. He was held for questioning for 12 days, then flown by jet to Jordan and driven to Syria. He was beaten, forced to confess to having trained in Afghanistan -- where he never has been -- and then kept in a coffin-size dungeon for 10 months before he was released, the Canadian inquiry commission found.
That is what the President and his followers insist we have to do in order to stay "safe" -- abduct people, hold them in secret prisons and torture them. That way, they will confess to crimes they didn't commit, admit that they trained in terrorist camps located in countries they've never been to, tell us about non-existent terrorist plots they invented to satisfy their interrogators, and confirm that detainees whom they don't know and never met are very bad Al Qaeda terrorists -- all so that they won't be tortured any more.
Even if the War on Terror was going perfectly, there is no denying that there has been billions of dollars taken away from domestic programs and spent on combating terrorism. The War is not going perfectly, however, which means that we cannot afford to have even more money wasted on extorting false leads out of innocent people.
Although all Americans should be concerned about the Bush Administration's insistance on using a technique that could create so many problems, Virginians in District 11 should be especially concerned. According to a recent press release by The Prince William Democratic Committee, Tom Davis doesn't believe that the US Constitution prevents Government agents from torturing people.
At a Woodbridge Town Hall meeting on Feb 4th, Tom Davis was asked essentially the following question:This is yet another example of why Tom Davis should not be reelected. In a time of great controversy, America needs leaders who have respect for the American Constitution-- not ones who simply decide that the Constitution should only be used in certain circumstances.
"Congressman Davis, would you or a member of your staff please read for this audience, here and now, the portion of our U.S. Constitution that you believe gives the President of the United States or the U.S. Congress the authority to: incarcerate people without charges; deny accused persons legal representation let alone a speedy and public trial; torture people to get information; and search peoples' homes, papers, or effects without a warrant; and manipulate the press among other clearly defined abuses in the Bill of Rights of this same Constitution?"Mr. Davis' incredible answer on February 4th was that the authority to disregard the Bill of Rights was not in the Constitution, but in a series of court cases. Further, he said the Constitutional protections in the Bill of Rights do not apply to non-U.S. citizens. He also chose to ignore the follow-up question concerning citizens like Jose Padilla who was arrested in Chicago and held without charges or legal representation as an "enemy combatant of the United States" and all the citizens whose privacy has been invaded by the National Security Agencies and other government organizations.