PM says 'no'' to bringing Khadr home.

The idea that one can rely on any country that is known to practice torture will not maltreat someone especially a terror suspect accused of killing an American is ridiculous. However, that never stops governments from using this as an excuse not to act. It has been done by the U.S. in the case of sending people such as Arar to Syria. Anyone who still thinks that the U.S. has not tortured terror suspects and others must have some sort of cognitive disssonance problem that is incurable.
This article is right to suggest there should be an investigation into the action of Canadian foreign affairs officials who knew that Khadr had been subject to torture in order to facilitate interrogation and yet went ahead anyway. It may be difficult to have any such investigation. The Arar case showed that the usual punishment for some involved in misdeeds is promotion.
We should not forget the Liberal role in all of this of the Liberal government of Paul Martin. The Conservatives naturally emphasize this even though it is Conservative action that is relevant now.
Harper's handlers do not seem to worry about the obvious falsehood involved in Harper's responses. Of course he could do something but he won't. He does have alternatives but he does not care to follow them.


PM says 'no' to bringing Khadr home

July 11, 2008 Torstar news services The government should launch an arm's-length criminal investigation of the Canadian officials who interrogated Omar Khadr at Guantanamo Bay, human rights lawyers demanded a day after revelations that foreign affairs officials knew the Toronto-born captive had been abused.Prime Minister Stephen Harper rejected any possibility of asking the U.S. administration to send Khadr home in light of the evidence of abuse."My answer is no," Harper told reporters in Tokyo as he wrapped up his trip to Asia. ``Mr. Khadr is charged with extremely serious crimes. The former (Liberal) government and our government – with the advice of the justice minister – considered all the questions. The situation remains the same. There is a legal process going on in the United States and he can make his arguments during this process. Canada has sought assurances that Mr. Khadr, under our government, will be treated humanely."Liberal members, some in power during Khadr's early incarceration, called it "shameful" Harper would not act in light of the revelations, and denied knowledge of the report that refers to Khadr's treatment.Liberal leader Stéphane Dion, speaking in Guelph, Ont., told reporters he knew "absolutely nothing" as a cabinet minister or caucus member in the prior two Liberal governments about what he called "very disturbing" allegations of Khadr's ill treatment. Dion said then foreign affairs minister Bill Graham "would not have accepted to be inactive facing such a situation."Documents released yesterday revealed Canadian officials were told Khadr had been subjected to a sleep deprivation regime the U.S. military called the "frequent flyer program" before a visit by a foreign affairs official in 2004. Khadr also alleged he had been tortured and asked the Canadians for "protection" from his U.S. captors.University of Ottawa law professor Amir Attaran argued Canadian officials could be held responsible since under Canadian law, "conspiracy to torture is punishable at exactly the same level – an indictable offence – as torture itself."A Federal Court judge suggested last month that Canada was complicit in Khadr's mistreatment by interrogating him after knowing he had been abused.Attaran argued the case poses a challenge to the Public Prosecution Service, which, along with the RCMP, should investigate whether charges should be laid. "We either act on it or there's an arguable case the ICC (International Criminal Court) could," he said.Spokesperson Dan Brien said the service has a responsibility to prosecute under the War Crimes Act, but is not an investigative agency.Asked whether the RCMP was looking into the allegations, Sgt. Sylvie Tremblay of media relations replied by email: "We are aware of the contents of the evidence that was released by the court. Torture is an offence under the Criminal Code. Canadian courts can try the offence if it is committed outside of Canada in circumstances where the victim is a Canadian citizen. Let me assure you that the RCMP takes all allegations of torture against Canadians extremely seriously."The once-censored documents released this week reveal Khadr told Canadian officials who visited him in 2003 he was "tortured" and scared of his American captors. He asked a Canadian Security Intelligence Service agent, "Promise you'll protect me from Americans."A year later when Foreign Affairs official Jim Gould travelled alone to interrogate Khadr, then 17, he was told he had been given no more than three hours sleep for 21 days.International and domestic law outlaws sleep deprivation as an interrogation tactic and a Foreign Affairs manual mistakenly released earlier this year defines the practice as "torture." The U.S. Army's own Field Manual, which governs the actions of military interrogators, classifies "abnormal sleep deprivation" as "mental torture."American Civil Liberties Union's Jamil Dakwar said he was surprised to learn the Canadian government not only knew of Khadr's allegations of torture, but also was aware the U.S. military was subjecting him to a program of abuse.At the time, the government stated they had "sought and received assurances" from the U.S. that Khadr was being treated humanely.Earlier this year, then-foreign affairs minister Graham told the Star he regretted not being more vigilant in Khadr's case and denied knowing details about the abuse of detainees at Guantanamo.Dion said it is important to learn "what happened with this memo.""I have no idea where it went in the chain of decision-making. It is something that I would like to know though ...We need to know."Anne McLellan, who served as Paul Martin's deputy prime minister, and public safety minister responsible for CSIS, said in an emailed reply that she also did not know about the Gould memo that noted the "frequent flyer program.""To the best of my recollection, I was not told by any of our officials that Omar Khadr was being subjected to treatment that would constitute torture," she wrote.Dion said the revelations about Khadr's treatment should push Harper to intervene – a call echoed yesterday by Liberal MP Bob Rae and Canadian Bar Association president Bernard Amyot."It adds to all the elements that lead us to conclude the prime minister of Canada must ask the American authorities to repatriate Mr. Khadr here to Canada so he faces the Canadian justice system, which will assure him due process, which visibly does not exist in Guantanamo," Dion said.An Angus Reid poll released yesterday showed only 29 per cent of Canadians believe Khadr will receive a fair trial at Guantanamo, slightly lower than April's results. Again, Canadians remain divided as to what should happen to Khadr.Of 1,004 Canadians polled, 38 per cent said they wanted him tried in Guantanamo, 37 per cent said they wanted him repatriated and the remainder said they were undecided