Reporters Don’t Always Work for the Devil

Good freaking job, Scott Shane, Stephen Grey and Ford Fessenden, of the New York Times. Seriously. Their article today on Maher Arar, a 35-year-old Canadian engineer, is eye-opening and detailed. Some unbelievable reporting.

For anyone who has vaguely heard that the U.S. government ships off detainees to places like Syria for torture—read:

“WASHINGTON, March 29 - Maher Arar, a 35-year-old Canadian engineer, is suing the United States, saying American officials grabbed him in 2002 as he changed planes in New York and transported him to Syria where, he says, he was held for 10 months in a dank, tiny cell and brutally beaten with a metal cable.

“Now federal aviation records examined by The New York Times appear to corroborate Mr. Arar's account of his flight, during which, he says, he sat chained on the leather seats of a luxury executive jet as his American guards watched movies and ignored his protests.”

Oh, and to all the Canadians, I’m sure you felt all the good will come your way:

“After 10 months in a cell he compared to a grave, and 2 more months in a less confined space, Syrian officials freed Mr. Arar in October 2003, saying they had been unable to find any connection to Al Qaeda. The Syrian ambassador to the United States called the release "a gesture of good will toward Canada."”


To Arar’s lawyer:
As I recently heard someone say on a reality TV show, “Crap-ay diem.” Crap-ay yourselves all the way to the Supreme Court with this one.