Moonstruck MacKay is in Washington today, meeting with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
Ostensibly, Peter MacKay is meeting with Secretary Rice for at least two genuinely serious reasons: to discuss the ongoing, outrageous, and unconscionable intransigence of U.S. Homeland Security, whose spokespersons continue to insinuate that they have "information" about Maher Arar that justifies keeping him on their no-fly list, and to discuss with Rice the "new directions" that American policy on Iraq and Cuba may be taking. Well: discuss. More like she will be giving MacKay the word, or, as CTV puts it, a "heads-up."
One heartening detail in that CTV report:
Vermont Democrat Patrick Leahy, the incoming chair of a Senate judiciary committee, told The Toronto Star newspaper Wednesday that he plans on summoning U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales before American legislators to demand answers in the Arar case.Canadian authorities have taken responsibility for their part in Arar's 2002 rendition to Syria, Leahy said, adding that it's now the Bush administration's turn to redress the wrong.
"The Canadian government has now documented that the wrong thing was done to the wrong man," said Leahy.
"It is time for the (Bush) administration to do what it can to redress this wrong, instead of perpetuating it."
Leahy said Gonzales should explain the entire U.S. policy of rendition and he's sick of the lack of answers shrouded in security concerns or promises to get back to him.
Vermont Democrat ... incoming chair ... Senate judiciary committee ... Gosh. The heart leaps up. I call that poetry.
But back to Peter and Condi.
I leave a more serious and extended deconstruction of the ongoing betrayal of Maher Arar to the boss, who follows Arar's story more faithfully than anyone I know.
I just follow Peter MacKay, as I know so many others now do as well. So there I was this morning, trying to imagine how Peter would today be putting into words for Condi the outrage that Canadians feel at the ongoing, unconscionable intransigence of U.S. Homeland Security in their continued smearing of an honest man who has been grievously wronged. And then Debra at breadnroses.ca did it for me:
I can see this conversation ...Peter: We both know that neither we nor our parties care about this issue but there may be an election coming up and we have to pretend we give a shit.
Condi: Glad to help out Peter. Here is the list of "political supporters" we discussed last time.
Peter: Do you like dogs?
I would have thrown in some very very verys, and maybe a bit of eye-batting, but I expect that that is indeed about as far as Peter will be interested in going ... on behalf of Canada, anyway.
I also expect that Condi's closing line will be the same as it always is, after she has patiently endured all the effusions and the soulful eye-batting. She will promise to keep Minister MacKay and Canadians "fully informed."
I saw the happy couple at this morning's news conference.
MacKay 'urged' Rice to review the matter of Arar's listing, citing the O'Connor report's findings, while Rice said she'd have Homeland Security and the Department of Justice look into it. She'd spoken about the matter with Michael Chertoff (sp?) just this morning, as a matter of fact.
At the same time, Rice pointed out that in these 'post-9/11' circumstances, the administration was determined to secure the borders and keep Americans safe: America has its own processes, she stressed, and these must be allowed to run their course.
It didn't sound to me like she was in any hurry to resolve the matter in Arar's favour.
This US administration is becoming less relevant every day. That is what loosing the "respect of the world means", They've jumped the shark. To Harper this is all political: his cozying up to the US will be jusyified by getting Arrar off of a ridiculous no fly list. Hell Larry Johnson, the ex CIA operative, is still on the nofly list along with all the other Larry Johnsons because he critized the war on CNN. Who cares it is irrelevant. Arrar was screwed by Canadians who did not stand up for a citizen. He will get enough cash to afford making the US his own personal no fly zone. Screw the US and any third rate neocon kiss ass that still thinks they are relevant.
I am disappointed that McKay & Harper are urgeing
the Americans to look into the Arar situation.The Americans say they have thier own reasons (obtained from multiple sources)for keeping Arar on their watch list.....lets respect their reasons and if Arar wants to pursue his case there, let him .Furthermore has Arar provided PROOF that he was tortured in Syria? Just think carefully about this situation....Syria is a country that harbours terrorists and gives them cash and arms.Maybe Arar was housed in a 5 star hotel in Syria (except when he was put in jail if a Diplomat etc. came to visit) where they plotted how to extort (initially $400 million)from the "mushy" Canadian government via the tax payer.This certainly is a lot less work than extracting $10,000 from each Syrian in Canada like other terrorist groups have to do.
(Ignoring the idiocy directly upstairs):
An excellent letter in today's Globe & Mail by Jim Reynolds about the photo: "She strides; he fawns. The picture leaves no doubt about who is in charge. When will we stop sending a boy to do a woman's job?"
The Americans say they have thier own reasons (obtained from multiple sources)for keeping Arar on their watch list.....lets respect their reasons and if Arar wants to pursue his case there, let him .Furthermore has Arar provided PROOF that he was tortured in Syria?
What a fascinatingly total inversion of Western political philosophy. The citizen needs to provide direct proof, the states needs none.
For some reason this particular post has become a magnet for spam. So I'm closing it to further comments.