OTTAWA, Canada, Jan. 19, 2008
Canada To Remove U.S. From Torture List
Training Manual Had Warned Diplomats That Prisoners In U.S., Guantanamo Risked Torture, Abuse
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The United States was included on a Canadian foreign mininstry list of countries suspected of torturing or abusing prisoners. But now a top official says the list will be revised. (AP)
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In a statement, Foreign Affairs Minister Maxime Bernier said he regretted the embarrasement caused by the public disclosure of the manual, which had been developed to train foreign service employees how to deal with Canadian citizens who are detained overseas.
"It does not convey the government's views or position," he said.
According to Bernier, the manual "wrongly includes some of our closest allies," and stressed that the manual "is neither a policy document nor a statement of policy."
Bernier said the manual would be rewritten, no details were provided.
The document singled out the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay as a site of possible abuse, citing interrogation techniques such as stripping prisoners, blindfolding and sleep deprivation.
It also named 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. His lawyers claim that Khadr, who was arrested in Afghanistan at age 15 back in 2002, has been tortured, 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.
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."
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Best-selling author Mitch Albom on his first nonfiction work since "Tuesdays with Morrie."
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See all 219 CommentsHmmm, I think that a lot of Americans would agree with me in saying that Bush could not possibly be human.
Posted by erasmus6 at 06:30 PM : Jan 20, 2008
Of course they are, after all they are just ''human'' like us,,,,, or are they?
Oh by the way, the war on terror is a fraud started by the 911 terrorists within. How can you have a war on a stategy?
What the h-e-l-l are you talking about?
Then we have j-whitman, the traitor who claims to be among us. Most likely the jerk is not telling the truth in anything he says.
And daffy - atleast he got the name right for his point of view.
These folks would kiss the enemy to death. They won''t allow us to protect ourselves because the michael moors, sean Pencilnecks, Osama Bin Ladens, jane fondas, and other do gooders (with your money) have convinced them to rot their brains out with liberal BS.
No respect, no brains and no future - that''s all they have.
They obviously did it that way for a reason. The reason I am thinking that, is this way it is put out there, people hear it and once heard are not going to forget it. They then remove it and can remain on good terms with the idiot till he''s gone.
I do not believe that OUR government is as stupid as yours, so for them to do this, I believe there was a good reason for it.
remove finger nails.
but doesn''t have a watch for war crime instigators
who remove country''s infraructures.
Just because the U.S. was removed from the list does not mean that Canada doesn''t believe they torture. They obviously had the guts to put it out there to begin with and let''s face it, even for a short time it let people know exactly what we think and know.
Who knows what Bush was doing after he heard this. It may not be that Canada has no guts, it may just be a matter of keeping peace with our neighbors until the idiot is removed from office. I don''t think you want to be warring with another country at this time, do you?
http://www.truthnews.us/?p=1719
It is following the CFR policy for hemispheric integration under the Security and Prosperity Pact signed in March, 2005. Canadians, like Americans, will enjoy open borders and pay for the construction of massive infrastructural projects such as the North American Corridor.
if memory serves, we sent guys to a couple of those countries to be "interror-gated" and even cited their "confessions"!
does that not smack of hypocrisy?
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See all 219 Comments