Check out Pat Dollard's site for a little preview of how al-Qaeda tortures people. Compare that to sleep deprivation. I mean, for f*ck's sake! Canada sucks!
TORONTO - A training manual for Canadian diplomats lists the United States as a country where prisoners risk torture and abuse, citing interrogation techniques such as stripping prisoners, blindfolding and sleep deprivation.
The Foreign Affairs Department document, released Friday, singled out the U.S. detention center at Guantanamo Bay. It also names Israel, Afghanistan, China, Egypt, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Mexico and Syria as places where inmates could face torture.
The listing drew a sharp response from the U.S., a key NATO ally and trading partner, which asked to removed from the manual.
"We find it to be offensive for us to be on the same list with countries like Iran and China. Quite frankly it's absurd," U.S. Ambassador David Wilkins told The Associated Press. "For us to be on a list like that is just ridiculous."
He said the U.S. does not authorize or condone torture. "We think it should be removed and we've made that request. We have voiced our opinion very forcefully," Wilkins said.
Michael Mendel, the Israeli Embassy spokesman, said Israel's Supreme Court "is on record as expressly prohibiting any type of torture. If Israel is included in the list in question, the ambassador of Israel would expect its removal," he said.
A Canadian citizen, Omar Khadr, is in custody at Guantanamo, but Canada has long publicly said it accepts U.S. assurances that Khadr is being treated humanely.
The government inadvertently released the manual to lawyers for Amnesty International who are working on a lawsuit involving alleged abuse of Afghan detainees by local Afghan authorities, after the detainees were handed over by Canadian troops.
Canada said the manual is for training, and does not amount to official government policy.
"It is not a policy document or any kind of a statement of policy. As such it does not convey the government's views or positions," said Neil Hrab, a spokesman for Canada's Foreign Affairs Department.
"The training manual purposely raised public issues to stimulate discussion and debate in the classroom."
Human rights groups have long called on Canada to pressure the United States to return Khadr from Guantanamo. They say Canada has not done enough for Khadr, who has been in custody since he was 15. Khadr is accused of tossing a grenade that killed one U.S. soldier and wounded another in Afghanistan in 2002.
He is the son of an alleged al-Qaida financier, and his family has received little sympathy in Canada, where they've been called the "First Family of Terrorism."
Dennis Edney, one of Khadr's lawyers, said the foreign affairs document shows that Canada says one thing publicly but believes something else privately.
"Canada was well aware that Omar Khadr's allegations of being tortured had a ring of truth to it. Canada has not once raised the protection of Omar Khadr when there are such serious allegations," Edney said. "What does that say to you about Canada's commitment to the rule of law and human rights? It talks on both sides of its face."
Wow. This really pissed me off.
1 comments:
What??? Cuba isn't on the list? Oh yeah..... Canadians love Cuba. Seriously....Speaking as a Canuck, most of us dislike the Khadr family intensely. They leave to go fight with the terrorists in Afghanistan and when wounded, return to Canada to take advantage of our health care system. Drives me crazy! Ahemd Khadr,the family patriarch got wacked by Pakistani solders a number of years ago. Few tears were shed in the Great White North for him.
What bothers me most is that the "human rights" groups in Canada have a problem with being able to distinguish right from wrong. They believe in the ethos of moral relativism thats driven by a post modernist dogma. You know...."all cultures, religions, governments, etc. are equal" and all that rot. One of Khadr's lawyers really blew his cool when he was challenged about the accused innocence. Instead of coming across as counsel genuinely interested in his clients welfare, he started spewing a diatribe about the inherent evils of U.S. hegemony. Even if Khadr didn't throw the grenade,(as many now think, but he may have killed others) the guy exposed his true colors. It's a shame that these losers get all the press.
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